Voyager Digital investors filed an Eleventh Circuit appeal to revive fraud claims against Mark Cuban and the Mavericks after a December dismissal. The case tests celebrity liability for crypto platform promotions.
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Voyager Digital investors have filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, seeking to revive fraud claims against Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks. The move challenges a federal dismissal handed down in December 2025.
The original lawsuit accused Cuban of promoting Voyager's crypto lending products without disclosing the platform's insolvency risk. The Mavericks, where Cuban is a majority owner, ran promotions tying the team's brand to Voyager accounts. Investors argued that Cuban's public endorsements – including tweets and event appearances – amounted to active solicitation of unregistered securities.
A district judge threw out the case last year, ruling that Cuban's statements were protected opinion or not directly traceable to specific losses. The court also cited the lack of privity between Cuban and the account holders. The dismissal came before discovery proceeded, meaning the investors never got access to internal communications or marketing contracts.
Tuesday's appeal brief argues the judge applied the wrong legal standard. The investors' lawyers say Cuban's actions crossed the line from mere puffery into actionable misrepresentation. They point to a Miami-based marketing deal between the Mavericks and Voyager that ran through the summer of 2022, months before Voyager froze withdrawals and filed Chapter 11.
The Eleventh Circuit will review whether the complaint stated a plausible claim under Florida securities law. A key question is whether Cuban qualifies as a "control person" liable for Voyager's disclosures. The investors also argue that the district court improperly weighed facts at the motion-to-dismiss stage.
Cuban's legal team has not yet responded to the appeal filing. They previously maintained that Cuban had no inside knowledge of Voyager's finances and that his promotional appearances were standard brand deals, not investment advice.
The case is one of several post-bankruptcy lawsuits targeting celebrity promoters of crypto platforms. Similar actions against Kim Kardashian and Floyd Mayweather have settled, while litigation against Tom Brady and Larry David remains pending. Voyager's bankruptcy proceeding in the Southern District of New York is still distributing recovered assets to customers, with current recovery estimates near 36 cents on the dollar.
The appeal briefing schedule has not been set. Oral arguments would likely come in the second half of 2026.
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