Over the past few years, we've seen numerous hip-hop acts attempt to launch their own cryptocurrencies including T.I. who launched FLiK Tokens in 2017. Unfortunately, the business venture hasn't been working out too well and now, Tip and his business partner are being sued for allegedly defrauding roughly two dozen investors.
According to The Blast, T.I. and his business partner are being sued by a group of 25 investors who claimed they invested $1.3M into the cryptocurrency venture. The investors said that Tip and the rapper's business partner in FLiK Tokens, Ryan Felton, utilized “social media, celebrity endorsements, and well-known industry experts to create the false impression that FLiK Tokens were a valuable liquid investment.” They claimed that T.I. and Felton gave the impression that Kevin Hart was going to be the new face of the company and even announced that he'd be brought on to FLiK as a “as owner of the business.”
The lawsuit alleges that hiked up the price of the FLiK Tokens once they got the money from investors before they "dumped" their crypto-coins and vanished. They said Felton created a new company that he said brought FLiK “and speciously told investors that he had nothing to do with the new sham company.”
They also said, “Felton explained that the devaluation was caused, at least in part, because T.I. had given FLiK tokens to members of his family and friends who had sold massive amounts on coinexchange.com causing rapid devaluation.”
Now, the group of investors are suing T.I. and Felton for securities fraud. They're seeking no less than $5M in damages.