The NewAge Liquidator has sued NewAge’s former government workforce for “substantial hurt”.
The Defendants … introduced monetary devastation to the Firm by means of their grossly negligent, reckless, and/or willful abdication of their fiduciary obligations and different illegal conduct.
Named Defendants within the NewAge Liquidator embody:
- Frederick W. Cooper (beneath) – NewAge Board Member and a majority shareholder of Ariix previous to acquisition
- Mark Wilson – NewAge President from November 2020
- Brent Willis – NewAge CEO from April 2016 to January 2022
- Timothy Haas – NewAge Board Member from 2017 to January 2022
- Reginald Kapteyn – NewAge Board Member from 2017 to November 2020
- Alicia Syrett – NewAge Board Member from January 2020 to January 2022
- Gregory Gould – NewAge CFO from October 2018 to July 2021
- Chuck Ence – NewAge CFO from October 2016 to August 2018
- Carl Aure – NewAge CAO and SVP from December 2018 to October 2021
- Kevin Manion – NewAge CFO from July 2021 to July 2022
- Ed Brennan – NewAge Board Member since 2017 and Chairman of the Board since January 2022, additionally NewAge interim CEO from March 2022
- Amy Kuzdowicz – NewAge Board Member from February 2019 and Audit Committee Chair
- Greg Fea – NewAge Chairman of the Board from 2018 to 2022
- Craig Thibodeau – NewAge VP of Key Accounts and President of Worldwide and International Head of Non-public Label [sic]
- Riley Timmer – former Ariix co-founder and COO, post-acquisition appointed to NewAge International Head of Investor Relations (June 2021)
- Tyler B. Jones – NewAge Vice President of Authorized
- KwikClick – publicly traded advertising and marketing firm launched by Frederick Cooper, not too long ago rebranded as “Kwik”
- WenHang Zhang – KwikClick CIO
- Jeffrey Yates – Kwikclick CFO and “Ariix Vendor”
- Brady Cooper – KwikClick Secretary
- Ian Chandler – useful proprietor of KwikClick and former NewAge President of the Better China area
- Cooper Household Investments LP – owned by Frederick Cooper
- Yates Household Investments LLLP – owned by Jeffrey Yates
- Wilson Household Holdings LLC – owned by Mark Wilson
- Timmer Household Investments LLLP – owned by Riley Timmer
- Chandler Household Investments 2.0 LLC – owned by Ian Chandler
The NewAge Liquidator’s lawsuit pertains to manipulation of NewAge’s share value, “unjustified compensation” and “deserted fiduciary obligations”.
These allegations mirror a lawsuit introduced in opposition to a few of the similar company defendants by NewAge’s Chief Restructuring Officer final October.
The SEC has additionally gone after Brent Willis (proper) for a similar conduct.
In a nutshell (quoted from the NewAge Liquidator’s lawsuit);
The D&O Defendants with the Firm between 2017 and 2020 launched into a marketing campaign of false and deceptive public statements that manipulated NewAge’s share value.
“D&O Defendants” refers to Cooper, Wilson, Willis, Hass, Kapteyn, Syrett, Gould, Ence, Aure, Manion, Brennan, Kuzdowics, Fea and Thibodeau.
This marketing campaign was led by Defendant, Brent Willis, NewAge’s Chief Govt Officer (“Willis”), who, dissatisfied together with his personal compensation and keen to spice up his profile as an government, set about creating the phantasm of a profitable and quickly increasing enterprise when NewAge was something however.
The opposite D&O Defendant Board Members and executives with NewAge at the moment have been complicit on this scheme, both as a result of they, too, straight participated and benefitted by means of unjustified compensation, or as a result of they fully deserted their fiduciary obligations to the Firm and allowed the misstatements to be freely propagated.
Amongst different issues, the misstatements issued by the D&O Defendants falsely claimed that NewAge had entered into numerous, expansive distribution agreements with international shops that may dramatically enhance the Firm’s product gross sales and market share.
NewAge’s alleged misstatements pertained to their MLM firms; Ariix and Noni by NewAge.
In actuality, nonetheless, the agreements offered for restricted distribution to a handful of places.
And even when the distribution agreements have been as far reaching as claimed, NewAge lacked the monetary wherewithal and stock to fulfill such expansive distribution preparations and the orders they’d convey.
Different misstatements included mendacity about improvement of a CBD vary of merchandise, and different “guarantees NewAge may and would by no means ship on”.
These public statements, issued in press releases and proffered at business commerce reveals, misrepresented the scope, progress
and true nature of the product improvement, which was nowhere close to being dropped at market.
The NewAge Liquidator alleges the general public misstatements have been “deliberately false and deceptive”.
And whereas the contents of the statements have been false, the online impact was very actual. The D&O Defendants reaped substantial and unjustified monetary rewards.
The NewAge Liquidator’s lawsuit seeks to claw the “unjustified monetary rewards” again.
Particular examples and quantities cited within the NewAge Liquidator’s lawsuit embody:
Brent Willis
In 2017, Willis acquired a wage of $300,000 and a bonus of $225,000 for a complete of $525,000.
In 2018, Willis acquired a wage of $312,500, a bonus of $50,000, and different compensation totaling $22,449 for a complete of $384,949.
In 2019, Willis acquired a wage of $650,000, a bonus of $312,845, restricted inventory awards of $297,375, inventory choices of $796,220, and different compensation of $56,852 for a complete of $2,113,292.
In 2020, Willis acquired a wage of $650,000, a bonus of $1,000,000, and different compensation of $115,528 for a complete of $1,765,528.
Gregory Gould
In 2018, Gould acquired a wage of $67,708 and different compensation totaling $4,305 for a complete of $72,013.
In 2019, Gould acquired a wage of $500,000, a bonus of $50,000, restricted inventory awards of $1,845,500, inventory choice awards of $552,325, and different compensation of $35,822 for a complete of $2,983,647.
In 2020, Gould acquired a wage of $500,000, a bonus of $250,000, and different compensation of $85,337 for a complete of $835,337.
Timothy Haas
In 2017, Hass acquired $17,500 in money and $65,000 in inventory awards for a complete of $82,500.
In 2018, Hass acquired $17,500 in money and $65,000 in inventory awards for a complete of $82,500.
In 2019, Hass acquired $58,125 in money and $100,000 in inventory awards for a complete of $158,125.
In 2020, Hass acquired $70,000 in money and $100,000 in inventory awards for a complete of $170,000.
Reginald Kapteyn
In 2017, Kapteyn acquired $17,500 in money and $65,000 in inventory awards for a complete of $82,500.
In 2018, Kapteyn acquired $17,500 in money and $65,000 in inventory awards for a complete of $82,500.
In 2019, Kapteyn acquired $55,625 in money and $100,000 in inventory awards for a complete of $155,625.
In 2020, Kapteyn acquired $59,063 in money, $100,000 in inventory awards, and $8,437 in different compensation for a complete of $167,500.
Ed Brennan
In 2017, Brennan acquired $17,500 in money and $65,000 in inventory awards for a complete of $82,500.
In 2018, Brennan acquired $17,500 in money and $65,000 in inventory awards for a complete of $82,500.
In 2019, Brennan acquired $40,625 in money and $100,000 in inventory awards for a complete of $140,625.
In 2020, Brennan acquired $70,000 in money and $100,000 in inventory awards for a complete of $170,000.
Amy Kuzdowicz
In 2019, Kuzdowicz acquired $55,625 in money and $100,000 in inventory awards for a complete of $155,625.
In 2020, Kuzdowicz acquired $77,500 in money and $100,000 in inventory awards for a complete of $177,500.
Greg Fea
In 2017, Fea acquired $42,500 in money and $65,000 in inventory awards for a complete of $107,500.
In 2018, Fea acquired $42,500 in money and $65,000 in inventory awards for a complete of $107,500.
In 2019, Fea acquired $151,875 in money and $100,000 in inventory awards for a complete of $251,875.
In 2020, Fea acquired $187,500 in money and $100,000 in inventory awards for a complete of $287,500.
Whereas the NewAge Liquidator’s lawsuit names further defendants, because it stands we now have three lawsuits lively pertaining to the identical conduct.
Sometimes regulatory lawsuits take precedent over civil actions. How the extra defendants will think about I’m undecided of.
I’ve added the NewAge Liquidator’s lawsuit to BehindMLM’s case calendar, so keep tuned for updates as we proceed to trace the case.
For reference, NewAge got here out the opposite aspect of its Chapter 11 chapter beneath the possession of John Wadsworth.
In March 2023, NewAge rebranded its MLM operations as PartnerCo.
