The post Victims drag World Cup stars to court over crypto NFT scam appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

In Spain, a high-profile investigation has been opened following a cryptocurrency project endorsed by top football players that is accused of defrauding investors of more than $3.4 million. The probe centers on Shirtum Europa SLU, which disappeared soon after advertising inactive digital collectibles tied to player image rights. The six footballers named in the criminal complaint, which is now under consideration by the Fifth District Court of Barcelona, are World Cup winners and former Barcelona and Sevilla players. They include Alejandro Gomez, Lucas Ocampos, Ivan Rakitic, Javier Saviola, Nico Pareja and Alberto Moreno. They are also accused of deceiving the masses by officially supporting Shirtum, who had no viable platform. The case was filed by 12 alleged victims and reinforced by professional witnesses, which included a financial investigation by reputable economist Prosper Lamothe. Court filings allege that investors were enticed with the promise of exclusive NFTs and speculative profits, only to be stuck with tokens that ultimately failed to develop utility or value. NFTs sold, platform abandoned Shirtum sold its $SHI token as the sole way to buy NFTs linked to the personal brands of huge football stars. There were digital items that cost more than $500. However, since there was no support to trade or withdraw them from the marketplace, users could not. Court filings allege that the platform’s developers established a purposefully complex business model between Spain and Andorra. The purpose, investigators claim, was to avoid taxes and protect founders against liability. The key protagonists of the operation are Argentine businessman David Rozencwaig and Catalan businessmen Manel Angel Torras, Marc Alberto Torras, and Manuel Morillas. The appearance of the players as co-founders and the faces of the project on its publicity vaulted public confidence in the project. Papu Gomez reportedly played an essential role, using personal relations to…

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Filed under: News - @ June 11, 2025 11:26 am