Dan Bilzerian, high stakes poker player and "King of Instagram", is once again in the spotlight of the world's media. In September, his company Ignite, which sells spirits and vape cannabis products, was accused of fraud. Along with her, his father, Paul Bilzerian, and their longtime accountant, Scott Rohleder, were also charged.
Federal investigators were already alleging at the time that Paul Bilzerian allegedly used Ignite to hide some of the money he owed for decades to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The U.S. Department of Justice alleges that he transferred millions of dollars to Ignite International Brands Ltd. with the help of his accountant, Rohleder, over the past six years alone. The transfer was allegedly made through a shell company. Prosecutors also allege that although Dan Bilzerian is the official CEO of Ignite, his father and Rohleder allegedly oversaw operations, strategy, marketing and fundraising. We broke the full story in our earlier article, which can be found here:
Dan Bilzerian's company accused of fraud, his father is also accused
News in the case
After the allegations were made public, however, Dan Bilzerian's name was not among those charged. So everyone was curious to know if he would be charged as well. However, Dan himself shed more light on the case a few days ago.
On November 12, 2024, Dan Bilzerian filed his own lawsuit in Nevada District Court, suing his father Paul, his company Ignite, Scott Rohleder, and Ignite CEO Rupy Dhadwar. Dan states in the lawsuit that he was never directly involved in the company's operations and until December 2023 was merely a figurehead for the company he founded. He was allegedly fired from his own company, but the company continued to use his name and face even though he disagreed. Dan was supposed to have founded the company in 2017, and although he is the majority owner, the lawsuit states that he was only the nominal CEO.
Dan has said that the behind-the-scenes management of the company has brought losses to the company, and that Rohleder and other people have threatened to fire him as CEO. This was supposed to be after he had a falling out with other shareholders about product quality and company leadership. A few days later, he was fired from that position by his father and Rohleder, allegedly without the necessary 67 percent shareholder vote to remove a director. Dan claims that he told the company's board of directors that Ignite could no longer use his name or likeness for publicity.
Dan Bilzerian allegedly requested Ignite to stop using his name and likeness on several occasions. According to the lawsuit, Rupy Dhadwar refused these requests and continued to use Dan's name and likeness and refused to remove them from marketing materials.
Dan Bilzerian further accuses the aforementioned people of engaging in an anti-campaign against his suppliers and distributors. The lawsuit includes allegations of copyright infringement and deceptive trade practices. In the lawsuit, Dan seeks $50 million in monetary damages for the misuse of his identity. It also seeks an investigation into Ignite's business operations during his father's involvement.
Is this really as he claims?
We may not know what the truth is in this case until later. But what doesn't sit well with Dan's claim in the indictment is that the company's funds were allegedly to be used to finance his very luxury lifestyle. The company allegedly financed his luxury homes, private jets, yachts, parties, models and various promotions, which some investors believed contributed to the company's financial problems.
Court records also show that Dan's company, Blitz NV, which declared bankruptcy last year, was given a $3.9 million loan by International Investments of St. Kitts (where his father, Paul, lives). Dan recently took out a $5 million mortgage on his Las Vegas home, which may point to his financial difficulties. Interestingly, Dan is also still promoting Ignite on his social media, where he has tens of millions of followers.
If you're interested in the full contents of the lawsuit, it's publicly available at this link.
Source - pokernews, perezhilton.com, thedeepdive.ca, calfkicker.com, X - Rob Freund, instagram, highstakesdb
