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Rapper 'The Game' Stares Down $12M Joint Class Action Over Paragon ICO
Taylor has been found jointly and severally liable over allegations he pursued personal profit in Paragon's unregistered ICO.
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 1:16 p.m. Published Jun 25, 2021, 3:31 a.m.
A U.S. federal court has granted a renewed motion for plaintiffs to pursue a class-action lawsuit against a crypto company, its defaulted employees and Jayceon Taylor, known by his rapper stage name “The Game.”
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According to court documents on Wednesday, Taylor has been found jointly and severally liable over allegations he pursued personal profit in an unregistered initial coin offering (ICO) by Paragon, Inc.
Taylor promoted the Paragon ICO on social media in 2017, alongside Jessica VerSteeg, a former beauty queen from Iowa, who is yet to be found and has remained inactive from social media for over two years.
It is alleged Paragon raised $12 million in unregistered digital assets during its Paragon (PRG) token sale Aug. 15 through Oct. 15, 2017, and deceived investors on a promise of ludicrous returns.
"Upon consideration of Plaintiffs’ renewed motion, the Court is persuaded the allegations are sufficient to show that Taylor acted for his own gain or for Paragon’s gain and, thus, could be considered a statutory seller," the document shows.
The latest judgment was handed down by magistrate Jeffrey S. White in the U.S. Northern District Court of California where the class-action was initially filed by disgruntled investors last year, claiming the company had violated U.S. securities.
Paragon is an entity set up in July 2017 to “deploy a suite of blockchain-enabled products to organize, systematize and bring verification and stability to the cannabis industry,” according to filings from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Now, plaintiffs are seeking damages against VerSteeg, her partner Egor Lavrov, Eugene “Chuck” Bogorad, Alex Emelichev, Gareth Rhodes and Taylor in the amount of $12,066,000, plus prejudgment and post-judgment interest.
See also: Crypto Class Action Against Rapper TI Dismissed in US Appellate Court
Judge White granted the plaintiffs' renewed motion for default judgement for violations of the Securities Act and has ordered them to file a status report showing how they intend to proceed by no later than July 2.
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