Share this article
Rapper 'The Game' Stares Down $12M Joint Class Action Over Paragon ICO
Taylor has been found jointly and severally liable over allegations he pursued personal profit in Paragon's unregistered ICO.
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 1:16 p.m. Published Jun 25, 2021, 3:31 a.m.
A U.S. federal court has granted a renewed motion for plaintiffs to pursue a class-action lawsuit against a crypto company, its defaulted employees and Jayceon Taylor, known by his rapper stage name “The Game.”
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
According to court documents on Wednesday, Taylor has been found jointly and severally liable over allegations he pursued personal profit in an unregistered initial coin offering (ICO) by Paragon, Inc.
Taylor promoted the Paragon ICO on social media in 2017, alongside Jessica VerSteeg, a former beauty queen from Iowa, who is yet to be found and has remained inactive from social media for over two years.
It is alleged Paragon raised $12 million in unregistered digital assets during its Paragon (PRG) token sale Aug. 15 through Oct. 15, 2017, and deceived investors on a promise of ludicrous returns.
"Upon consideration of Plaintiffs’ renewed motion, the Court is persuaded the allegations are sufficient to show that Taylor acted for his own gain or for Paragon’s gain and, thus, could be considered a statutory seller," the document shows.
The latest judgment was handed down by magistrate Jeffrey S. White in the U.S. Northern District Court of California where the class-action was initially filed by disgruntled investors last year, claiming the company had violated U.S. securities.
Paragon is an entity set up in July 2017 to “deploy a suite of blockchain-enabled products to organize, systematize and bring verification and stability to the cannabis industry,” according to filings from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Now, plaintiffs are seeking damages against VerSteeg, her partner Egor Lavrov, Eugene “Chuck” Bogorad, Alex Emelichev, Gareth Rhodes and Taylor in the amount of $12,066,000, plus prejudgment and post-judgment interest.
See also: Crypto Class Action Against Rapper TI Dismissed in US Appellate Court
Judge White granted the plaintiffs' renewed motion for default judgement for violations of the Securities Act and has ordered them to file a status report showing how they intend to proceed by no later than July 2.
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
These Three Metrics Show Bitcoin Found Strong Support Near $80,000
Onchain data shows multiple cost basis metrics confirm heavy demand and investor conviction around the $80,000 price level.
What to know:
- Bitcoin rebounded from the $80,000 region after a sharp correction from its October all time high, with price holding above the average entry levels of key metrics.
- The convergence of the True Market Mean, U.S. ETF cost basis, and the 2024 yearly cost basis around the low $80,000 range highlights this zone as a major area of structural support.
Top Stories
