Key Takeaways
- Freeman is seeking $400 million in punitive damages and payment for his initial investment in a company that served as a precursor to Stake.com.
- Stake.com described the claim as a “desperate attempt to spread false information”
Leading Bitcoin Casino Stake.com’s former partner Christopher Freeman has reportedly filed a civil lawsuit against the casino in the Southern District of New York.
As per the filing, Freeman alleges that he was deceived into straying away from the formulation of Stake.com and was seeking $400 million in punitive damages along with payment for his initial investment in a company (Primedice) that served as a precursor to Stake.com.
However, the creators of Stake.com, Ed Craven and Bijan Tehrani, have rubbished the allegations calling the lawsuit “utterly frivolous” and “provably false.”
The complaint filed by Chris Freeman contains allegations that are internally inconsistent, intentionally misleading, and provably false, “Stake.com’s statement reads. The casino described the allegations as a “desperate attempt to spread false information,” stating that Freeman had no claim to the money he said he was owed.
Tehrani and Freeman, and Craven set up the casino business called Primedice in the early 2010s. While Freeman entailed 20% in Primedice, Tehrani and Craven held 40%. This was reportedly an arrangement that mirrored their initial investments.
Freeman claims that within nine months, his stock was lowered to 14% to compensate other key members of the development team. Freeman claims that in 2016, he discussed the concept of a crypto casino with Tehrani and Craven, but they allegedly turned him down because of potential regulatory concerns.
Following this, the duo decided to proceed with Stake.com while Freeman was left high and dry. Freeman claims that he was discouraged from joining the duo’s new venture- Stake.com, and was informed he could only take part if he relocated to Australia and that the new business would only deal in fiat currencies like the US dollar or the Euro.
Freeman now alleges that Tehrani and Craven started Stake.com despite their prior reservations on how it is too expensive to operate and worries about regulation.
“Later, when Stake.com launched as a virtual casino which included a competing online dice game and many other features Freeman had proposed and helped design, Tehrani and Craven affirmatively tried to assuage Freeman’s dismay at having been misled by affirming that he still retained his stake in Primedice. Eventually, Freeman’s access to the Primedice account was blocked and never returned,” Freeman alleges
With the firm consistent that it won’t give in to Freeman’s demands, it is to be seen if the court will pay heed to Freeman’s claims.
