Steve Aoki is being sued over alleged “undisclosed endorsements” of “worthless NFTs” produced by the company MetaZoo.
According to Billboard, Florida attorney Evan Berger has filed a class action lawsuit against the EDM star on grounds of unfair trade claims and false advertising.
In 2021, Aoki – a noted NFT fan who once famously stopped a set to show off a token he paid $859,000 for – became a part-owner of MetaZoo. Collaborations followed, including a drop of collectible cards tied to the DJ and producer’s 2022 album, ‘HiROQUEST: Genesis’.
Berger argues that he and many other buyers were influenced by social media posts from Aoki and Matt Khalish, co-founder of US gambling firm DraftKings who also promoted the assets, and is also named in the class action lawsuit. At the time, the non-fungible tokens at the centre of the case were priced at more than $150,000, but have lost almost all value since. Meanwhile, the company, which is not listed as a defendant in the lawsuit, has gone out of business.
The claimant has said he wants to act on behalf of thousands of people who lost money through purchases of the series.
“There is a specific set of rules that are in place to protect consumers, and it’s of great importance that influencers know and understand those rules, because they are requirements and not suggestions,” Berger told Law.com. “There are a number of class actions now against viable companies where the same thing has happened.”
“Prior to bankruptcy, MetaZoo had tens of millions of dollars in revenue, a good portion of which can be directly attributed to the undisclosed endorsements on social media by defendants,” the lawsuit says. “As a result, the estimated damages in this case are likely in the tens of millions.”
Aoki has yet to issue a response.
In 2021, DJ Mag published an in-depth feature about NFTs asking whether they could somehow revolutionise the music industry and give the power back to artists, or if they were just another ego-driven exercise for crypto investors, with a dramatic environmental impact.
The tokens – which use blockchain technology to prevent copies and lock-in proof of ownership – are most commonly associated with a digital art craze during which prices for individual assets and collections rocketed. The Chainsmokers and Snoop Dogg were among other high-profile advocates. A crypto crash in 2022 saw vast amounts of value wiped off the market. Subsequently, lawsuits have been brought against stars including Justin Bieber and Madonna for their perceived role in helping inflate prices. No verdicts have been given at the time of writing.