Mike Tyson Sues Former Executives of Cannabis Brand Parent Company for $50M

Boxing legend and cannabis industry CEO Mike Tyson is suing several former
executives and a shareholder of Carma HoldCo, the parent company behind his
Tyson 2.0 cannabis brand, Front Office Sports reports. The lawsuit accuses
the company of fraud through kickback schemes, and unauthorized bonuses and
personal spending.

The lawsuit, which is seeking $50 million, alleges the fraudulent schemes
have cost Tyson and other plaintiffs “tens of millions of dollars,” the
report says.

The other plaintiffs in the lawsuit include professional wrestler Ric
Flair, whose Carma brands include Ric Flair Drip and Wooooo! Energy, LGNDS,
a company that has collaborated with the Tyson 2.0 brand, and Carma
itself.

The lawsuit names former Carma President and Chairman Chad Bronstein,
former CEO Adam Wilks, and former Chief Legal and Licensing Officer Nicole
Cosby, along with shareholder James Case.

According to the lawsuit filed last week in the U.S. District Court in
Illinois, the defendants are accused of a “brazen RICO conspiracy involving
criminal wire fraud, embezzlement, money laundering, and extortion, as well
as securities fraud and shameless self-dealing that enriched the Defendants
to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.” The lawsuit also accuses Wilks
of having an undisclosed “kickback” deal with vape maker DomPen, and
accuses Wilks of recieving “concealed payments in exchange for turning a
blind eye to DomPen’s unauthorized use of CARMA’s intellectual
property.” DomPen is not named as a defendant.

In a statement, Jonathan Cyrluk, the attorney for Bronstein and Cosby,
told Front Office Sports, that “the complaint is fiction dressed up as a
lawsuit.”

“Before filing, the plaintiffs tried to intimidate my clients with
settlement demands that read more like a shakedown than a legal claim –
demanding millions of dollars and attempting to force others to surrender
their Carma shares,” Cyrluk said in the statement. “My clients won’t be
bullied and are prepared to knock out this meritless lawsuit in court.”