Dallas Mavericks Funding in Bitcoin
A class-action complaint against the defunct cryptocurrency brokerage company Voyager Digital and billionaire investor and owner of the Dallas Mavericks Mark Cuban claims the two ran what amounts to a Ponzi Scheme. The lawsuit, which was submitted on Wednesday to the United States District Court of Southern Florida, asserts that Cuban was a key figure in the promotion of the Voyager platform and frequently misrepresented the business, including by claiming that the platform was as risk-free as you are going to get in the crypto universe.
There was even a moment when the Dallas Mavericks provided $100 in Bitcoin to anyone who downloaded the Voyager app and made a deposit of $100 of their own money as part of a promotion to draw users to the platform. The complaint made specific mention of this, stating that Voyager Platform relied on Cuban’s and the Dallas Mavericks verbal backing and Cuban’s financial investment to continue to maintain itself until its implosion and Voyager’s eventual bankruptcy.
Following the collapse of Terra (Luna) and its TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin, which sent shockwaves through the cryptocurrency ecosystem and resulted in the demise of the cryptocurrency hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, things started to go south for the platform (3AC). It appears out that Voyager had lent 3AC more than $670 million in USD Coin (USDC) and Bitcoin (BTC) loans, which 3AC ultimately stopped paying back. Voyager was unable to cope with the loss of those monies, which resulted in the company filing for bankruptcy protection in July.
FDIC’s Directive to Voyager
Investors are now seeking solutions. Plaintiffs claim in the complaint that Cuban and Voyager Digital CEO Stephen Ehrlich helped the company make false and deceptive claims of earning enormous riches in the cryptocurrency market. An excerpt from the lawsuit stated that Cuban and Ehrlich went to great lengths to use their experience as investors to induce millions of Americans to invest in many cases, their life savings into the Deceptive Voyager Platform and purchase Voyager Earn Program Accounts (‘EPAs’), which are unregistered securities.
The complaint also emphasized erroneous remarks regarding Voyager’s insurance status. Cuban allegedly said that deposits were as safe as if they were in a bank, which some people misinterpreted to suggest that deposits were covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC). Voyager finally received a directive from the FDIC to stop producing false or misleading assertions. Plaintiffs in the complaint are alleging breaches of many state securities and business laws, as well as aiding and abetting fraud, helping and abetting breach of fiduciary responsibility, civil conspiracy, unjust enrichment, and more.
Source: https://www.thecoinrepublic.com/2022/08/13/are-mark-cuban-and-voyager-digital-in-a-ponzi-scheme/