Attorney Albert A. Chapar, Jr. of The Chapar Firm, LLC has secured a favorable order dismissing the firm’s client, entertainer TI (Clifford Harris, Jr.) from a multiparty securities fraud case arising out of alleged cryptocurrency transactions.
In November 2018, a group of investors filed an action in Georgia federal court in which the plaintiffs asserted that Harris and others violated securities laws by allegedly duping the investors into funneling $2 million into an initial coin offering of so-called “FLiK tokens.”
Attorney Chapar issued a statement denying liablity. In 2019, Judge Charles A. Pannell dismissed the federal securities claims, but granted leave to amend. The Plaintiffs then added claims based upon Georgia’s Securities laws, and added actor Kevin Hart as a defendant.
Attorney Chapar filed a Motion to Dismiss the entire amended action. He argued that the facts as plead did not show the required nexus to the state of Georgia as required by the statute. In the Motion to Dismiss, Mr. Chapar also argued on behalf of TI that the Plaintiffs had not properly alleged fraud or negligent misrepresentation.
On February 29, 2018, Judge Charles A. Pannell agreed with Harris’ arguments and granted the Motion to Dismiss and removed Harris as a defendant, ruling among other things that:
The plaintiffs have merely alleged that Harris encouraged his Twitter followers to visit the website for the FLiK ICO. They have not provided any statements from Harris about the value of the FLiK tokens. The facts as pleaded do not rise to the level of particularity required.”
Judge Pannell added that the plaintiffs had failed to demonstrate that T.I.’s actions constituted securities violations according to the Georgia Uniform Securities Act:
“The company is not physically located within the boundaries of the state of Georgia. None of the plaintiffs reside in Georgia or allege that they have traveled to Georgia, therefore the acceptances were executed outside of Georgia. The plaintiffs have not alleged that any funds were sent to or from any financial institutions or accounts located in Georgia.”
Attorney Chapar and TI were very pleased that the Court agreed with their arguments.
The case is Aurelien Beranger et al. v. Clifford “T.I.” Joseph Harris et al., case number 1:18-cv-05054, Northern District of Georgia,
The full Opinion may be downloaded here: Order Granting Dismissal of TI