TLDR
- Fenwick & West agreed to pay $54 million to settle FTX customer fraud-related claims.
- Prager Metis agreed to pay $11.75 million in the second settlement wave.
- Udonis Haslem also agreed to pay $420,000 over his past FTX promotion.
- Fenwick denied wrongdoing and said it was unaware of fraud at the exchange.
- A separate $525 million lawsuit against Fenwick remains active in Washington, D.C.
FTX customers have reached new proposed settlements with Fenwick & West, Prager Metis, and Udonis Haslem. The deals total more than $66 million, according to a Miami federal court filing. The case centers on claims tied to Sam Bankman-Fried’s collapsed crypto exchange.
Fenwick and Prager Metis agree to payouts
Fenwick & West agreed to pay $54 million to settle customer claims. The Silicon Valley law firm served as outside counsel to FTX US before the exchange failed. The deal still needs approval from U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore.
Prager Metis, an auditor for FTX, agreed to pay $11.75 million. Former NBA player Udonis Haslem also agreed to pay $420,000. Haslem had promoted FTX before its collapse in November 2022.
The new deals form the second wave of FTX class settlements. Customer lawyers said Fenwick helped create plans that supported FTX’s alleged fraud. Fenwick denied the claim and said it “was not aware of the fraud at FTX”.
The firm also said it “disputes wrongdoing of any kind”. The settlement does not include any admission of fault. The court must grant preliminary approval before the deals can move forward.
Customers seek one class for FTX users
Lawyers Adam Moskowitz and David Boies asked the court to certify one customer class. The proposed class covers users who held crypto or cash on FTX. It also covers yield product users and buyers of FTT.
The filing says FTX had more than 1.2 million users at its peak. It also says the class could reach “the millions”. The lawyers want one process to manage settlement payments.
The same legal team secured earlier settlement terms with 15 defendants. Those defendants include Bankman-Fried, Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh, Gary Wang, and Dan Friedberg. Several celebrity promoters were also part of that earlier settlement wave.
The court gave early approval to parts of those deals from December 2024 to July 2025. The latest filing adds Fenwick, Prager Metis, and Haslem. A final hearing could come 90 days after preliminary approval.
Other investor lawsuits remain active
Not every investor supports the proposed settlement process. A group of 18 people and three corporate plaintiffs wants separate treatment. They come from Hong Kong, Singapore, the UK, the EU, and South Korea.
That group says its losses exceed $500 million. It asked the judge not to issue orders that could cover its claims. The request relates to a separate motion filed earlier this year.
Fenwick also faces a $525 million civil suit in Washington, D.C. That case was brought by 20 FTX victims against the firm and other defendants. It also names several current and former Fenwick lawyers.
The Washington case alleges malpractice, fraud, and gross negligence. The Miami settlement does not resolve that lawsuit. Fenwick has denied wrongdoing in the proposed class settlement.
Payment plan would account for bankruptcy recoveries
The proposed plan aims to prevent customers from being paid twice. It would subtract bankruptcy recoveries from each customer’s claimed losses. Those losses would cover crypto, cash, and certain FTT purchases.
Crypto values would be based on CoinGecko prices from May 14. FTT would count only at the documented purchase price. Any FTT received for free would have no value under the plan.
The customer lawyers also want JND Legal Administration to handle payments. They asked the court to replace the FTX bankruptcy estate for that role. They cited cost and speed concerns in the filing.
FTX collapsed in November 2022 after a rush of customer withdrawals. Bankman-Fried later received a 25-year prison sentence. He is appealing his conviction over the theft of about $8 billion from customers.
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