CoinDesk reports:
Logan Paul has filed a defamation lawsuit against YouTuber Stephen Findeisen (Coffezilla), accusing him of releasing a series of videos in 2022 about the former’s failed CryptoZoo NFT project.
The lawsuit alleges that Findeisen made “malicious and repeated” false statements, accusing Paul of orchestrating a scam through the CryptoZoo organization.
“Defamatory lies”
Court documents state, “Paul is bringing this defamation lawsuit to hold Findeisen accountable for his actions and for the enormous harm he has caused to Paul’s reputation by intentionally and recklessly spreading defamatory false information.”
At the end of 2022, Coffezilla released a three-part YouTube series on CryptoZoo, calling it “Logan Paul’s Biggest Scam.” These videos claimed that Paul deceived his fans by collecting funds from NFT holders without delivering on promised projects. The series quickly gained attention, garnering millions of views and becoming one of Findeisen’s most popular content.
However, Paul believes these videos depicted a misleading narrative. The lawsuit alleges that Coffezilla omitted crucial information that indicated Paul’s genuine commitment to the success of CryptoZoo. Findeisen was aware that Paul did not profit from the project and there were numerous internal communications demonstrating his determination to execute it perfectly before the public release of CryptoZoo.
The documents state, “Findeisen was well aware that Paul never intended to deceive anyone but, on the contrary, had always intended to build a legitimate blockchain-based game.”
In the lawsuit, Paul also blames the project’s failure on Eduardo “Eddie” Ibanez and Jake Greenbaum, the former described by him as a “charlatan” who falsified documents, and the latter “more interested in trying to personally profit than in helping to create a legitimate project.”
Logan Paul seeks over $75,000 in damages
Logan Paul is seeking over $75,000 in damages, plus interest, attorney’s fees, and additional relief determined by the court.
Paul previously announced a $1.5 million CryptoZoo recovery plan and considered suing Findeisen at the end of 2022. However, he decided against it and instead focused on compensating NFT holders. Nevertheless, Findeisen continued to release videos in 2023 and 2024, reiterating that CryptoZoo was a scam organized by Paul.
According to the lawsuit, when his efforts “failed to materialize,” he subsequently “felt disappointed,” spending $1 million from January to March to repurchase NFTs, despite “not making any money from the project.”
The CryptoZoo project launched in 2021 with the aim of being a game where players could use ZOO tokens to purchase NFT “eggs.” Since then, ZOO tokens have plummeted, now valued at zero, with minimal trading volume, effectively worthless.
