According to CryptoPotato, Logan Paul, a well-known personality, has initiated a defamation lawsuit against Stephen Findeisen, a YouTuber known as Coffeezilla. The lawsuit is in response to a series of videos released in 2022, which accused Paul of orchestrating a scam through his failed CryptoZoo NFT project. The court documents reveal that Paul is seeking to hold Findeisen accountable for his actions, alleging that he 'maliciously and repeatedly' made false statements that have caused significant damage to Paul's reputation.
In 2022, Coffeezilla released a three-part YouTube series on CryptoZoo, branding it as 'Logan Paul's biggest scam.' The videos claimed that Paul had defrauded his fans by collecting money from NFT holders without delivering the promised project. These videos quickly gained popularity, garnering tens of millions of views and becoming some of Findeisen's most viewed content. However, Paul argues that these videos presented a misleading narrative, omitting crucial information that demonstrated his genuine commitment to the success of CryptoZoo.
The lawsuit also alleges that Findeisen was aware that Paul did not profit from the project and had numerous internal messages showing his determination for CryptoZoo to be executed perfectly before its public launch. The lawsuit further states that 'Findeisen knew full well that Paul had never set out to scam anybody, but to the contrary had always intended to build a legitimate blockchain-based game.'
Paul also attributes the failure of the project to Eduardo 'Eddie' Ibanez, who he describes as 'a charlatan' who falsified his credentials, and Jake Greenbaum, an adviser who was 'more interested in trying to personally profit than in helping to create a legitimate project.' Paul is seeking damages exceeding $75,000, plus interest, lawyer fees, and additional relief as determined by the court.
Despite Paul's previous announcement of a $1.5 million recovery plan for CryptoZoo and considering suing Findeisen in late 2022, Findeisen continued to release videos throughout 2023 and 2024, reiterating claims that CryptoZoo was a scam organized by Paul. The lawsuit states that Paul was 'left disappointed' when his efforts 'failed to materialize,' and he spent $1 million to buy back the NFTs between January and March, even though he had not 'earned any money from the project whatsoever.'
The CryptoZoo project, launched in 2021, was intended to be a game where players could buy NFT 'eggs' using the ZOO token. However, the ZOO token has since plummeted, now effectively worthless with a market capitalization of zero and minimal trading volume.