There is now a class action lawsuit against Aphria with their shareholders, who have lost millions of dollars, suing the company over what it believes to be fraud, including the purchase of worthless shell companies across Latin America owned by one of Aphria’s founders, Andy De Francesco, according to court documents.
A number of individuals with connections to Aphria invested in MassRoots including Andy De Francesco, Barry Honig, John Stetson, and John O’Rourke.
Honig recently paid $27 million to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation into him that accused him of manipulating the stocks of Riot Blockchain, a penny stock, that O’Rourke ran as CEO. The SEC is also investigating Mark Grossman who invested in Riot and MassRoots.
Honig did not return messages sent to his company.
The SEC alleged that stock in Riot Blockchain was acquired at a low price and then artificially inflated before being sold.
De Francesco’s wife Catherine held the same voting power as O’Rourke, Grossman, and Stetson in MassRoots. She also owned substantial shares in Riot Blockchain.
De Francesco did not respond to multiple calls.
Dietrich was defensive about MassRoots relationship with Aphria.
Dietrich said that while DeFrancesco’s company invested a couple hundred thousand dollars and he is grateful for their support, they are not involved in the company’s operations.
“We accept capital from anyone willing to help and comply with regulations,” Dietrich said “That’s a handful of investors out of 35,000.” He said that Aphria’s investment in MassRoots was in compliance with the law.
He said he has no relationship with those under investigation. “They have nothing to do with Massroots,” he insisted.
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