Logan Paul walks free of consequence after a judge reaffirmed the August dismissal of his CryptoZoo lawsuit (via TMZ). The investors of the NFT game filed a class action lawsuit against the YouTuber-turned-wrestler, accusing him of defrauding the investors in this failed crypto project.
Paul launched CryptoZoo in 2021, a game where users could make money by breeding virtual animals and earning NFTs. Fans who bought NFTs on CryptoZoo allegedly lost thousands of dollars. Paul denied the allegations that he rug-pulled the project and misled the buyers.
Earlier, a magistrate judge dismissed the lawsuit, stating that the plaintiffs couldn’t link Paul directly to their losses. The district judge agreed to this ruling. Paul’s attorney, Jeff Neiman, pointed out how the judge reaffirmed the ruling and shared that the ruling once again proved that “no reasonable juror could find Logan’s statements misleading or fraudulent.”
What Happened to Logan Paul’s $2.3 Million Promise to Buy Back the NFTs?
Unfortunately, there has been no update on Logan Paul’s promise to buy back the NFTs from players. In January 2023, he apologized to fans for the CryptoZoo failure and claimed that he would “make this right” (via BBC). He shared that he spent about one million dollars on the project.
The apology came after the issues behind Paul’s new project were brought out by YouTuber Coffeezilla, who uploaded a three-part series accusing Paul of running a multi-million dollar scam. In an X post in January 2024, Paul offered to buy back the Base Eggs and Base Animals.
Today, I am incredibly happy to announce that I am delivering on my promise to buy back Base Egg and Base Animal CryptoZoo NFTs for their original purchase price. This buy-back program is being carried out at https://t.co/XIQzLAGKiG. Claims can be submitted through this site… pic.twitter.com/VMPDHvdXkq
While users called it a refund, Paul refused to call it a refund, claiming that he never made money out of the project. He shared that he was “personally committing” more than $2.3 million to buy back the NFTs. He shared:
I never made a single penny from the project, period. In fact, the opposite is true, because I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to make it happen. Like you, I was highly disappointed that the game was not delivered.
However, users noted in the community notes that Paul’s “refund” meant that they couldn’t sue him for damages. The terms and conditions also mentioned that any submitted NFTs that Paul deemed ineligible would not be returned. These clauses made many fans furious.
Logan Paul Claimed He Filed a Lawsuit Against Certain Bad Actors
Logan Paul filed a lawsuit against the developers of CryptoZoo, Eduardo Ibanez and Jake Greenbaum, claiming that they “lied about their resumes, knowledge, experience, and intentions.” He shared in his X post that he wanted to hold these bad actors accountable for the failure of the project. He shared:
This lawsuit is the result of an exhaustive investigation that included the review of the entirety of conversations and tracking nefarious trading activity related to the project. Nefarious trading activity taken behind our backs, without our knowledge, and with the intention of defrauding us all.
He also filed a defamation lawsuit against Stephen Findeisen, aka Coffeezilla, claiming that the YouTuber falsely and maliciously portrayed the CryptoZoo project as a scam (via LegalEagle / YouTube). It was alleged that Paul used his resources to financially drain his detractors through these lawsuits.
What do you think of Logan Paul’s legal troubles with the CryptoZoo scam? Let us know in the comments below!
