Mike Tyson and Ric Flair are accusing their erstwhile partners in celebrity cannabis brands of ripping them off.
Legendary boxer Mike Tyson and professional wrestling icon Ric Flair’s attempts to launch celebrity cannabis brands resulted in “a brazen … conspiracy involving criminal wire fraud, embezzlement (and) money laundering,” the pair alleged in a federal lawsuit filed last month.
Tyson and Flair are the lead plaintiffs in a 76-page complaint filed Dec. 19 in U.S. District Court in Illinois that accuses four former executives and shareholders in Carma, a Chicago-based branding company that’s also a plaintiff, of “defrauding” the celebrities and using the firm “as their own personal piggy bank.”
The suit alleges 21 separate counts of fraud and breach of contract. It seeks damages, legal fees and costs “in excess of $50 million” – and, should it go to trial and result in discovery, promises to shine a light on how investors and brand partners may have attempted to cash out of deals quickly following the $32 billion cannabis industry’s boom period rather than build lasting presences.
Additionally, according to the suit, the former executives at Carma made “unauthorized” side deals selling the celebrities’ likenesses, including with a vape manufacturer and a licensed California cannabis cultivator, that “resulted in financial losses” to Carma “but lined (their own) pockets.”
Read the full article at MJBizDaily
