Unrivaled Brands Files Suit Against People's California For Fraud Related To Dispensary Acquisition

Unrivaled Brands, Inc. (OTCQX: UNRV) filed a cross-complaint on September 20, 2022 against Frank Kavanaugh, Jay Yadon, Bernard Steimman, and their company, People’s California, LLC for fraud and negligent misrepresentation related to the sale of the dispensary People’s First Choice and other assets to Unrivaled in November 2021. A cross-complaint is an independent action brought by a party against a co-party, the original plaintiff, or someone who is not yet a party to the lawsuit.

People’s California lists Fort Ashford Funds, BRP Ventures, and People’s, LLC as Managers/Members on filings with the California Secretary of State. Fort Ashford Funds is a privately held investment firm that lists Frank Kavanaugh, Susan Kavanaugh, and Andrew Krajacic as managing directors on its website. BRP Ventures is a consulting firm listing John Yadon as a manager/member.

What Happened

Unrivaled alleges in the cross-complaint that, among other things, around the time of the sale, Kavanaugh, Yadon and Steimman, through an entity known as New Patriot Holdings, Inc., siphoned away over $5,000,000 from Unrivaled through backdated accounting entries and write-offs related to the People’s Dispensary.  

“One of my first tasks as Interim CEO was to investigate the events and circumstances related to the acquisition of People’s California assets. I had grave concerns about the transactions and the significant red flags surrounding the deals. The more my team digs into the facts, the more we find,” said newly appointed interim CEO Sabas Carrillo. “In addition to our Cross-Complaint for fraud based on what my team and I had found after only a few weeks at Unrivaled, we expect additional claims will have to be made in the near future as we continue to investigate.” 

According to the complaint, Unrivaled assumed over $4,000,000 in IRS tax debt accrued by the People’s Dispensary while under the leadership of Kavanaugh, Yadon, and Steimman. In addition, the complaint alleges that $17,000,000 in cash was required to be paid by Unrivaled before the deal had even closed. The cross-complaint also notes that part of the substantial up-front cash payment was demanded because Kavanaugh, Yadon, and Steimman required funding for a pending project in Salinas, California.

“We want our shareholders, the city of Santa Ana, and the entire California cannabis community to know that we are committed to aggressively defending Unrivaled from fraud,” Carrillo said.