Influencer served settlement demand via NFT after $7M token presale

by · May 21, 2023

A nonfungible token (NFT) influencer has been served with a settlement demand via an NFT — which casually dropped the “F-bomb” several times — alleging that the influencer engaged in wire fraud “at the very least” on a recent $7 million presale token. .

On May 20, Mike Kanovitz, a partner at the law firm Loevy & Loevy, stated in a tweet that a settlement letter had been delivered as an NFT to the wallet address associated with the influencer known as Ben.eth, whose real identity remains unknown. .

He alleged that Ben.eth “used a manipulative launch strategy” for the Psyop (PSYOP) token, which raised $7 million in the initial presale over 72 hours.

Concerns centered around how the Liquidity Pools (LP) were structured and how tokens “bleeped out” after the pre-sale.

Shortly after the letter was published on Twitter, Ben.eth wrote tweeted that 50% of the tokens had been sent out and “the rest will be sent in short order.”

“At a minimum, you will be guilty of wire fraud, which is a predicate offense and the basis for treble damages against you ($7 million becomes $21 million),” the letter said.

Kanovitz noted that a “refund is the stand-up thing to do.” However, he warned of potential legal action if refunds were not given:

“So, just send back the ETH. The case will be over and you and your victims can all move on with their lives. But if you insist on screwing over thousands of people, my law firm will step up to right that injustice.”

Furthermore, he warned of a potentially “painful” process for Ben.eth if the letter is not followed.

“The suit will name you personally as well as your alias and will be served at your home,” the letter said.

Kanovitz further threatened to subpoena the influencer’s communications, saying “that evidence will put the final nails in your coffin.”

He added that he would reveal the real identity of the influencers’ co-conspirators.

Kanovitz concluded the letter by saying, “You’re running a real scam, and it’s hurting real people. There will be consequences if you don’t do it right.”

Related: NFT court orders may become the norm in crypto-related litigation: Lawyers

In response to the letter, Ben.eth retweeted it several hours later on May 20, stating that it is “so unprofessional it could get them in trouble with the bar association.”

Cointelegraph contacted Ben.eth for comment, but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

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