Legendary tech billionaire accused of fraud in pot startup lawsuit

SF Gate ^ | 7/27/2023 | By Lester Black

[NohSpinZone]

A new lawsuit accuses Eaze, a major California cannabis company based in San Francisco, of running an illegal operation and defrauding investors. The lawsuit also accuses Eaze of being so low on cash that it is now “pending insolvency.”

SNIP

Eaze was formerly the buzziest cannabis company in California, running a delivery service that was valued at $700 million, with more than $255 million in total investment capital raised with the promise of becoming “the Amazon of weed,” according to TechCrunch. However, cash flow problems at the company have been documented for years, and Eaze has faced a series of legal problems, including its former CEO's pleading guilty to a $100 million bank fraud scheme.

Last week’s lawsuit, first reported by WeedWeek, was filed by the founders of Green Dragon, a multistate cannabis company that merged with Eaze in late 2021. The Green Dragon founders accuse Eaze’s board of directors of “intentional and malicious” concealment of the delivery company’s financial condition in order to finalize the company merger.

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Cory Azzalino, the CEO of Eaze and a named defendant in the lawsuit, said in an email to SFGATE that Eaze is “in a healthy financial position” and that the company’s operations are not in violation of California law.

The lawsuit also claims that Eaze is partially owned by James Henry Clark, the billionaire founder of Netscape, and Thomas Jermoluk, a longtime business partner of Clark’s. The pair, who were named in the lawsuit, own a shell company that owns at least 35% of Eaze’s stock and sit on the company’s board, according to the lawsuit. Their involvement in the company hasn’t previously been reported.

[NohSpinZone]

I swear this stupid state can't do anything right these days including legalizing pot. They've overregulated "legal pot" so much that it's hard for these companies do compete well against black market drug dealers who legalization was supposed to put out of business. *FACEPALM*

[Seruzawa]

Lol. Potheads being potheads.

[Worldtraveler once upon a time]

So....

In the same day on Free Republic we learn that illegal migrants are being coerced into slave-like conditions on California pot farms AND investors in California pot farms are be defrauded.

Or, just another day in Democrat-controlled California.

[Tell It Right]

[NWFree]

San Francisco startup company defrauds investors

How many times have we heard that?!