Another of Logan Paul’s crypto companies is facing an investigation, with Liquid MarketPlace having now been labeled a “multi-layered fraud.”
The influencer-turned-wrestler has already run into trouble previously after YouTube investigator Stephen ‘Coffeezilla‘ Findeisen accused the cryptocurrency-based blockchain project, CryptoZoo, of being his “biggest scam.”
While Paul promised to spend $1.8 million out of his own pocket refunding investors, this only partly covered losses and resulted in further backlash. Now, Paul has filed a defamation lawsuit against Findeisen, but the YouTuber suspects it might have more to do with Liquid MarketPlace than CryptoZoo.
This is because Liquid MarketPlace has, like CryptoZoo, fallen under investigation and been accused of “fraud”. But what exactly is Liquid MarketPlace, and why would Paul sue Findeisen to prevent him from speaking about it?
Paul first announced the launch of Liquid MarketPlace in April 2022, with the idea behind the company being that investors could purchase and resell “fractions of rare collectibles” using tokens on the Blockchain.
However, a Canadian government agency, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) claimed in June 2024 that it was a “multi-layered fraud” wherein top executives diverted millions of funds for “personal enrichment”, violated Ontario law, and lied to OSC staff. Notably, Paul was not named in the proceeding.
Prior to OSC’s investigation, however, Findeisen had already gotten wind that something may have been amiss with Liquid MarketPlace. In a bid to look into the accusations and even “help” Paul, Findeisen launched an investigation himself but was hit with the defamation lawsuit shortly afterward.
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Initially under the impression that Paul was going to offer CryptoZoo victims a “full refund”, Findeisen had decided to help the influencer by bringing awareness to some of the “potential problems” Liquid MarketPlace was facing.
Having “heard troubling stories” about the company, Findeisen reached out to Liquid MarketPlace’s CEO Ryan Bahadori in an attempt to “verify if the claims were true”. However, he claims he was “stonewalled” by both Paul and Bahadori.
“I need to make it clear: this is not an accusation, I am not accusing Logan Paul or Liquid MarketPlace of wrongdoing,” Findeisen said, explaining it was simply his “job” to look into “unverified claims”. Nonetheless, when OSC’s investigation was revealed, Findeisen had even more questions and once again attempted to reach out to Paul.
Findeisen wrote to the co-founder: “Given that I spoke with you about these allegations over a year ago, I wanted to ask for comment. I can give you 24 hours to respond.”
Instead, he was hit with the defamation lawsuit with “roughly three hours to spare” before the 24-hour deadline ran out. Admitting there was “still so much” unknown about Liquid MarketPlace, Findeisen promised he would continue to investigate despite the lawsuit’s attempt to “threaten” him.
“Maybe Logan’s totally innocent, maybe he surrounded himself with scumbags who defrauded his fans, maybe he’ll do a refund for this project… make no mistake though, this investigation is still ongoing.”