The high-stakes legal battle raging between Stake.com billionaires and former crypto bro

The claim alleges that in 2020, Tehrani asked Freeman to release the coins, but Freeman refused. “Freeman sent a text message to Tehrani declaring his illicit intent to “keep at least half” of the bitcoin (to which he was not entitled) in the cold storage wallet that he was holding and storing in Florida, for the express and improper purpose of retaining “leverage” over his partners,” the claim says.

In April, a Florida court threw out the allegations of theft, but allowed for the claim to be amended and refiled. A new complaint was filed in the case in May.

At the same time, Freeman is continuing his legal fight for a slice of the Stake.com fortune in New York. In that case, Freeman claims Craven and Tehrani engaged in fraud by concealing from him their plan to use cryptocurrency to set up the online casino to cut him out of the project.

Freeman relaunched his legal action despite a first legal tilt by the 31-year-old being thrown out because there was no proof any business took place in that state and no party to the case was a New York resident.

Lawyers for Craven, Tehrani and the various Stake entities recently told a New York court they would again seek to have the case thrown out for the same reasons as the first case. “This is the second New York court that’s been burdened by an action that really belongs, if it were to go forward at all, in Australia.”

Lawyers for Freeman claim to have uncovered fresh evidence to help his claim for a $600 million-plus slice of the Stake.com fortune.

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At a recent court hearing, lawyers for Freeman said a letter and draft statement of claim sent by a lawyer for Tehrani to Freeman in 2021 relating to the allegedly stolen bitcoin originally appeared to indicate some business had taken place in New York.

The draft statement of claim reads: “This is an action for breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, unjust enrichment, and conversion under the laws of the State of New York, and for violation of the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.”

Tehrani’s New York townhouse purchase will also be used to argue he is a resident of the US state. Freeman’s lawyers said they would produce evidence to show New York was the “hub” where they all started working together on a project called Primedice.

“Tehrani is living in New York from … summer of 2015 through the end of 2016, early 2017. Freeman actually spends about half of his time sleeping at Tehrani’s apartment … because they are a couple of kids working together on an internet project,” Freeman’s lawyer Scott Schirick said. “That is the way these things happen in the movies. That is how this actually happened.”

Freeman, Stake.com, Craven and Tehrani were all contacted for comment.

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