Federal investigators have a mountain of evidence against Dan Bilzerian’s father, Paul Bilzerian, and the cannabis company the poker player runs in a high-profile wire fraud case.
Paul Bilzerian and Ignite International Brands, Ltd. were charged last month with defrauding the United States by allegedly falsifying who controls the business and misleading investors.
PokerNews has obtained a 40-page complaint filed in the United States District Court Southern District of New York that lays out the evidence, which includes email exchanges and a timeline of the alleged illegal activity. Dan Bilzerian does not personally face any criminal charges.
How is Dan Bilzerian Connected?
Dan Bilzerian, while not responsible for his father’s actions, is listed as the CEO of Ignite, which sells disposable vape pens and other nicotine e-liquid products. But the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disputes who actually controls the company and have documentation they believe proves it.
Paul Bilzerian, 74, a convicted white-collar criminal who was sentenced to four years in prison in the late 1980s for fraud, never paid the SEC the $33.1 million judgment he lost in a civil suit over 30 years ago. That debt, with interest and fees accrued, now exceeds $180 million.
Some have suggested the younger Bilzerian, a former GGPoker ambassador, built his wealth off an inheritance. Dan Bilzerian, however, claims he made his millions through poker.
Either way, the SEC believes Paul Bilzerian has been hiding millions through shell companies and Ignite, which they also claim he controls, not his son. Emails uncovered by federal investigators appear to back up that story.
The elder Bilzerian, in October 2018, emailed Ignite’s CEO: “If you can hire Eddie tomorrow as the Vice President of Finance, or any temporary title that is not an officer position which would delay our CSE approval, effective October 1, 2018, on the terms I sent you earlier I would be grateful. And if you will give Eddie authority to hire four non officers effective whatever dates they can start (Eddie or Scott [Rohleder] will give you those dates and the compensation terms), we will then have our initial team in place.”
He emailed board members one month later informing them that he wanted to host a Skype meeting to discuss “financial statements” and “create a budget for 2019.” The convicted felon also emailed Ignite’s then-president, stating, “you are not producing any earnings; you are not even close to producing any results that would indicate you can get to break even,” before calling for a private meeting with the former executive.
After calling for the firing of the former president, Mr. Bilzerian emailed board members in August 2020, writing that he “would like to have John Schaefer appointed President as he is already the Chief Operating Officer and make it clear we are not looking for anyone else. I would like to give John a salary increase to reflect his new title but we are working on what that should be. John works well with Scott [Rohleder] and me and we continue to make great progress cutting costs, positioning Ignite for success and a sale in 2022.”
Rohleder and Schaefer, both Ignite executives, are co-defendants.
Dan Bilzerian Lists Las Vegas Mansion for $25 Million
Did Paul Bilzerian Mislead Investors?
Ignite, a Canadian-based company that is publicly traded in the United States (BILZ), began selling products out of Phoenix, Arizona during COVID.
The complaint alleges that from late 2020 to 2021, Ignite “—engaged in a scheme, orchestrated largely by recidivist [Paul Bilzerian], who controls Ignite, to fraudulently report revenue.”
Ignite reported in January 2021 revenue of about CAD $10.1 million (USD $7.9 million) for the fourth quarter of 2020. The company noted in a January 19, 2021 press release they “exceeded revenue for the previous three quarters combined.” Those positive numbers, as federal investigators claim, were all bogus.
An investigation into Ignite’s financials allegedly discovered that the reported revenue was based largely on three “fraudulent” invoices sent to one company (listed as “Company 1” in the complaint). Company 1’s president (“Individual 1”), however, disputed the invoices and refused to pay for or receive the products listed on the invoices.
Ignite, allegedly at the direction of Paul Bilzerian, continued peddling the false 2020 Q4 revenues, and that caused the stock price to spike significantly. On January 18, 2021, the stock opened at $0.57 per share before hitting $1.57 that same day.
Ignite’s auditor and co-defendant, Accell Audit & Compliance, PA, began auditing Ignite’s 2020 financials in January 2021. When Accell attempted to confirm the fraudulent invoices with Company 1, Individual 1 would not confirm the amounts stated. Paul Bilzerian then, according to court documents, changed course and directed International Investments, another company he controls, to nominally “purchase” the inventory listed in the questionable invoices.
In late February 2021, Ignite allegedly credited Company 1 for USD $4.6 million while backdating the credit notes to December 31, 2020. Ignite is said to have then backdated invoices to International Investments for the same amount to the same date. The company did not adjust its 2020 financial statements or correct its January 2021 press release.
Paul Bilzerian, a resident of St. Kitts, has claimed to live in poverty for years. But the allegations against him tell a different story.
Dan Bilzerian’s Father, Cannabis Company Indicted on Federal Charges
