Company Owned By Dan Bilzerian Faces Criminal ChargesFather, Business Executive Accused Of Fraud |
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Federal prosecutors announced criminal charges this week against a cannabis company owned by frequent online poker player and social media personality Dan Bilzerian along with his father Paul Bilzerian and an executive in the enterprise.
Charges include conspiracy to defraud the government and wire fraud, but Dan Bilzerian wasn’t charged with any crimes in the case. Authorities allege Paul Bilzerian and Ignite executive Scott Rohleder conspired to impede the SEC from collecting on civil judgments of more than $62 million from the elder Bilzerian.
Details On The Case
Paul Bilzerian worked as a corporate raider in the 1980s and reportedly earned hundreds of millions of dollars. He battled the U.S. government for years in court after the Securities and Exchange Commission won a $62 million judgment against him for securities fraud in 1989. He has lived for years on the Caribbean island of St. Kitts as the government attempted to collect. Bilzerian has denied he’s done anything wrong.
“I have no reason to dedicate the rest of my life to trying to earn money, all of which would go to basically pay a judgment that I don’t believe … should have been entered in the first place,” he said in a court hearing in 1999.
Federal authorities now allege that from 2018 to 2024, Bilzerian, Rohleder, and Ignite conspired to impede the SEC from collecting on the judgments by using numerous shell companies while concealing his interest in the operations by using other named owners.
The indictment alleges Bilzerian and Rohleder funneled millions of dollars through shell companies to fund Ignite while hiding his role in ownership and management. Prosecutors say Dan Bilzerian served as the company’s CEO in name only and his father controlled the major decisions of the company.
Misleading Investors
The government alleges Ignite misled investors about revenue and sales. The announcement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office includes some mentions of Dan Bilzerian and refers to him as “D.B.” The government notes that “Rohleder allegedly assisted in the preparation of D.B.’s tax returns, which included false and fraudulent representations that caused a tax loss of approximately $1,536,949 to the IRS for the tax years 2018 to 2020.”
Prosecutors describe a deep scheme to funnel money into various enterprises while hiding Paul Bilzerian’s involvement and concealing correct financial figures from investors.
“The allegations against Mr. Bilzerian and his co-defendants paint a picture of a long-running, complex scheme to avoid their financial obligations,” IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher said.
Bilzerian and Rohleder face up to five years in federal prison for each conspiracy count and 20 years in for each wire fraud count. Rohleder also faces up to three years for each tax fraud count.
One of Dan Bilzerian’s companies recently filed for bankruptcy and his Las Vegas mansion has been listed on the market for $25 million. A bankruptcy judge has alleged Bilzerian engaged in “corporate shell game” tactics.” He hasn’t commented on the case against Ignite.
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