The fallout from the CryptoZoo NFT debacle has spilled into the court of law. The brand’s co-founder Logan Paul has sued commentary creator Coffeezilla (real name Stephen Findeisen), who allegedly defamed Paul in videos related to CryptoZoo.
In 2021, Paul announced CryptoZoo, a project that provided buyers with individualized “eggs” in exchange for Ethereum (ETH) cryptocurrency. The idea was that the eggs would “hatch” into creatures that would rise or fall in value depending on their characteristics, but the gamified aspect of CryptoZoo never materialized. Eventually, Paul agreed to pay $2.3 million to buy back CryptoZoo purchases from aggrieved customers.
Findeisen, who is one of YouTube’s foremost cultural commentators, has uploaded at least six different videos related to CryptoZoo. Early on in the project’s lifespan, Findeisen described Paul as a scammer who was pulling a fast one on his fans. Eventually, Paul apologized to the man known as Coffeezilla, and the feud seemed like it was coming to a close.
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Apparently not. Findeisen continued to call out the creator-turned-pro wrestler, and at the end of June of this year, Paul filed a lawsuit accusing the “internet detective” of defamation. “Starting when he released a three-part YouTube series on CryptoZoo in December 2022, and continuing into the present, Findeisen has perpetuated the false narrative that Paul scammed and defrauded his own fans in connection with the project,” reads the complaint. “Findeisen has perpetuated this false narrative, despite knowing it to be completely and utterly false, in order to enhance his own profile and increase his viewership and income in the process.”
Findeisen’s alleged knowledge of the falsehoods within his narrative are key to the case. In most cases, the defendant in a defamation suit must prove that any untrue statements were premeditated. It is clear that Findeisen called Paul a scammer in Coffeezilla videos, but the suit also claims that Findeisen downplayed “scores of contemporaneous internal text messages between Paul and his co-founders” to make his points.
Paul is already suing CryptoZoo co-founders Eduardo Ibanez and Jake Greenbaum, whom he has described as conmen. Several buyers from the project have also filed a class-action suit against CryptoZoo and Paul.
In a response to the latest CryptoZoo-related suit, commentator Spencer Cornelia brought in lawyer Rob Freund to analyze the case. In the video, Cornelia and Freund agreed that Paul’s arguments could hold up, though Cornelia argued that the elder Paul brother could have handled the situation better.
“I think logan actually had a huge opportunity to turn the situation into a positive and failed miserably,” he said. “Logan should have allowed Coffeezilla to interview him for a separate video and answer any and all questions and refund all of the holders.”
