Logan Paul, the YouTube megastar, is facing a class-action lawsuit about his CryptoZoo NFT project, which is accused of being a rug pull. The accusations allege that Logan Paul raised funds for the web3-based animal-themed game that does not exist.
The lawsuit comes after Logan Paul took accountability and action to recoup investor losses. Here is what transpired about the lawsuit and the future of Logan Paul’s CryptoZoo project.
What Happened In The CryptoZoo And Logan Paul Saga?
The leading YouTube and NFT superstar Logan Paul’s crypto/NFT gaming project CryptoZoom might be a rug pull. For clarification, that was the conclusion based on the class action lawsuit filed against it. A ‘rug pull’ is normally a scenario when a crypto founder scams their community. The founder first raises funds and then quickly abandons the project and its community, taking the funds away with them.
Based on a District Court of the Western District of Texas filing, the CryptoZoo founders are said to have scammed the community into purchasing a non-existent project. The lawsuit alleges that the company together with Logan Paul himself tricked the superstar’s huge online following into buying “unfamiliar digital currency products.”
Furthermore, the project alleges to make itself a digital collectible that offers various benefits, exclusive access, and a lot more to its community. To add onto that, the project also alleges to hand its collectors an exclusive online ecosystem to use and market the NFTs.
The court filing then proceeds to say that the game never existed or was ever in development. It also insists that the “defendants manipulated the digital currency market for Zoo Tokens to their advantage.”
The Coffeezilla Effect
Moreover, the lawsuit claims that soon after the NFT sale, the defendants then transferred the funds directly to wallets only controlled by them. The YouTuber, currently with more than 23 million subscribers appears to have misused his influence to steal money from his community.
Crypto journalist and YouTuber Coffeezilla also put out several videos exposing Logan and the CryptoZoo project. After lots of back and forth between the involved parties, Logan took to Twitter in January 2023 to apologize to his fans and the entire community. He then said that a $1.3 million rewards program would be set up for the affected players.
Logan Paul’s fellow associates Danielle Strobel (Paul’s assistant), and Jeff Levin (manager) are also accused in the lawsuit. Furthermore, Jake Greenbaum (CryptoZoo co-founder aka Crypto King), Ebbie Ibanez (lead developer), and others were named in the lawsuit. It also says that the team engaged in fraud owing to the game was non-functional.
The filing stated:
“The wrong done to Plaintiff by Defendants was attended by fraudulent, malicious, intentional, willful, wanton, or reckless conduct that evidenced a conscious disregard for Plaintiff’s rights. Therefore, Plaintiff seeks punitive damages in an amount to be proven at trial.”
