Posted on: December 3, 2024, 04:23h.
Last updated on: December 3, 2024, 04:23h.
Heavy is the head that wears the Instagram crown. High-stakes poker player, “masculinity influencer,” antisemitic conspiracy theorist, and self-proclaimed King of Instagram, Dan Bilzerian, is suing his dad.
Previous legal proceedings involving Bilzerian have been related to acts of youthful high jinks and boisterous horseplay, such as possessing bomb-making components, throwing a porn star off a roof, and bankruptcy. But this one has taken a darker turn.
In a lawsuit filed in the Nevada federal court, Bilzerian calls his father, Paul Bilzerian, “a criminal” who has wrested control of the plaintiff’s vape business, Ignite International, with the help of fellow defendants Scott Rohleder and Rupy Dhadwar.
Worst of all, Pops and his cronies have continued to use Bilzerian junior’s name and likeness, including his famously luxurious beard – which should be copyrighted if it isn’t — to promote Ignite, per the complaint.
They even tried to steal Bilzerian’s Instagram account and its 31.4 million followers, according to the lawsuit.
Corporate Raider
Bilzerian describes himself in the suit as the founder and majority shareholder of Ignite, which started life as a cannabis-adjacent lifestyle brand before pivoting to vape pens, tobacco pouches, assorted apparel, and related merch.
The plaintiff says he was “pushed out of Ignite by a series of unlawful acts orchestrated by Paul and executed by Rohleder and Dhadwar.”
In the 1980s, Paul Bilzerian was a notorious corporate raider who in 1989 was sentenced to four years in prison for securities fraud, although some felt at the time he was unfairly scapegoated by an overzealous prosecutor named Rudy Giuliani. The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) later fined Paul $62 million.
In the ensuing 30 years, Paul Bilzerian has paid off around $550,000 of that penalty while pleading poverty from his residence in the Caribbean. With interest, the fine has risen to $180 million.
The SEC has long suspected Paul of concealing assets, and in September 2024 the agency filed charges against him, claiming he hid tens of millions of dollars in Ignite.
Bilzerian’s lawsuit claims that former CEO Rohleder, who is also named in the federal indictment, is Paul Bilzerian’s “right hand” and his “proxy” in the US. Meanwhile, current Ignite CEO Dhadwar is “a puppet of Rohleder and Paul,” according to the complaint.
Sqiuabble Ignites
Bilzerian claims that in December 2013, while serving as the nominal CEO of Ignite, he engaged in a dispute with other Ignite shareholders, described in the lawsuit as “Paul’s agents,” about what he saw as the mismanagement of the company.
In response, Rohleder and “Paul’s other agents” threatened to fire him. Despite Bilzerian pointing out that the company would “lose the multimillion-dollar benefit of his social media posting” and the right to use his name and likeness, his position was terminated later that month, per the suit.
Then, in June 2024, they kicked him off the board and “unilaterally and unlawfully seized control of Ignite’s operation.” Bilzerian claims. This was done without the 67% shareholder vote necessary to remove a company director.
The company refused to remove Bilzerian’s name and likeness from its marketing materials. To add insult to injury, Bilzerian senior, Rohleder, and Dhadwar have “falsely represented to potential suppliers and distributors that [the poker player] is subject to a noncompete agreement with Ignite,” which has prevented him from starting a similar business of his own, according to the lawsuit.
The suit claims violations of publicity rights, unjust enrichment, economic interference, unfair competition, and deceptive trade practices. It asks for a jury trial and seeks multiple damages.
Speaking of juries, this one’s out on whether it was Bilzerian who snitched on his dad to the feds.
