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The soccer mogul Cristiano Ronaldo is facing a class-action lawsuit from plaintiffs claiming to have suffered financial losses linked to his promotion of Binance. 
The lawsuit was <a href="https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/51497314/Sizemore_et_al_v_Ronaldo" target="_blank" rel="noopener">filed </a>on Nov. 27 in a Florida District Court and accuses Ronaldo of aiding in the sale of unregistered securities in collaboration with Binance. 
Binance <a href="https://crypto.news/binance-cristiano-ronaldo-cr7-nft-collection/">entered a multi-year partnership</a> with Ronaldo in mid-2022. 
As per that <a href="https://crypto.news/binance-will-soon-release-cristiano-ronaldo-nft-collection/" data-type="link" data-id="https://crypto.news/binance-will-soon-release-cristiano-ronaldo-nft-collection/">agreement</a>, Ronaldo promoted a series of non-fungible tokens (NFT) on the platform. 
The plaintiffs now allege that Ronaldo’s promotion led users to not only invest in his NFTs, but also to engage with other Binance offerings, including investments in what they claim are unregistered securities, such as Binance’s BNB token and its crypto yield programs. 
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"> 
 “Binance’s partnership with celebrities like Ronaldo was clearly designed to use the positive reputation associated with specific celebrities to convince consumers that Binance was a safe place to buy and sell cryptocurrency.” 
</blockquote> 
The complaint highlights the significant influence of Ronaldo who boasts 850 million followers across various social media platforms. Lawyers argue that his following substantially boosted the exchange’s popularity evidenced by a 500% increase in searches for “Binance” following his promotion. 
 You might also like: <a href="https://crypto.news/richard-teng-takes-the-helm-at-binance-promising-a-shift-away-from-outlawed-behaviour/"> Richard Teng takes the helm at Binance promising a shift away from outlawed behaviour </a> 
The lawsuit further contends that Ronaldo is an investment novice with no basis to promote a financial product given the legal issues now engulfing the embattled exchange. 
<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter">
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 Cooking something up with <a href="https://twitter.com/binance?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@binance</a> <a href="https://t.co/FMAP5GAdxE" target="_blank">https://t.co/FMAP5GAdxE</a>— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cristiano/status/1729477584977600615?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">November 28, 2023</a>
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It also points to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) <a href="https://crypto.news/sec-charges-former-nba-player-paul-pierce-for-crypto-promotion/">guidelines, which mandate celebrities</a> to disclose any compensation received for promoting cryptocurrencies – a requirement the plaintiffs claim Ronaldo failed to meet. 
Plaintiffs Michael Sizemore, Mikey Vongdara, and Gordon Lewis are seeking damages and coverage of legal fees in the lawsuit. 
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="binance-embroiled-in-legal-issues">Binance embroiled in legal issues</h2> 
Concurrently, Binance and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, are dealing with legal issues of their own, having admitted guilty and agreeing to a <a href="https://crypto.news/wsj-changpeng-zhao-to-step-down-plead-guilty-as-part-of-binance-doj-settlement/">$4.3 billion settlement</a> with the US for charges related to money laundering and operating an unregistered money-transmitting business. 
Zhao <a href="https://crypto.news/binance-ceo-changpeng-zhao-steps-down-with-response-to-the-sec-following-guilty-plea/">stepped down as CEO</a> and faces up to 18 months in prison, as per federal sentencing guidelines, but some legal experts now speculate that he may face up to <a href="https://crypto.news/binances-changpeng-zhao-may-spend-10-years-in-prison/">10 years in prison</a>. Binance has agreed to up to five years of compliance monitoring by the Justice Department and Treasury. 
The SEC has filed a lawsuit against Binance, alleging, among various charges, the sale of unregistered securities. Reports also indicate that the regulator is investigating <a href="https://crypto.news/sec-continues-probe-into-binance-us-for-potential-fraud-similar-to-ftx-case/">potential misappropriation of customer funds</a> by Binance. 
 Read more: <a href="https://crypto.news/changpeng-zhao-resigns-as-chair-of-binance-us/"> Changpeng Zhao resigns as chair of Binance.US </a>

Cristiano Ronaldo faces lawsuit over Binance promotion and unregistered securities

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