English
Gala Games founders squabble over $130 million theft and corporate waste allegations
The Gala Games founders engage in a dispute around charges of a theft amounting to over $130 million and claims of company mismanagement.
Gala co-founder Eric Schiermeyer reportedly profited himself, according to his founding peer Wright Thurston, who claims Schiermeyer took millions.
Gala Games' co-founders have been fighting in court over two distinct lawsuits, one alleging the theft of $130 million in Gala and the other alleging corporate waste.
Wright Thurston and Eric Schiermeyer, co-founders of Gala, filed lawsuits against each other in a Utah District Court on August 31.
Schiermeyer, who is also the CEO of Gala, said that Thurston and his investment firm, True North United Investments, stole about $130 million worth of a coin related to the Gala Games ecosystem in early 2021.
According to Schiermeyer's action, the GALA tokens were initially moved to a wallet under the company's control, but were later moved to 43 other wallets by Thurston, who, when asked about the transfers, said he was holding the tokens in secure wallets for Gala.
The tokens were later removed from the wallets and swapped or sold in a "complex web of obfuscatory transactions" between September 2022 and May 2023, according to the lawsuit.
Excerpt from Schiermeyer's suit against Thurston regarding the allegedly stolen GALA. Source: PACER
According to the lawsuit Thurston later denied knowledge of the purported token sales but now claims ownership of the sold GALA, which Schiermeyer's complaint rejected.
Thurston is also accused of stealing licenses to run Gala ecosystem nodes, which can yield GALA tokens, and then selling the licenses and pocketing the money.
On the same day, Thurston's True North filed a complaint against Schiermeyer on behalf of Gala, alleging that he forced Gala to "sell off and waste millions of dollars in company assets" and borrowed millions of Gala's funds to himself for personal expenses.
Highlighted excerpt from Thurston’s suit against Schiermeyer claiming the latter used Gala’s assets for personal gain. Source: PACER
According to the lawsuit, Schiermeyer also reportedly established Gala businesses in Switzerland and Dubai and appointed himself as the main shareholder in order to seek commercial prospects.
True North asserts Schiermeyer ran Gala without consulting Thurston, a Gala director, and provided Thurston with incomplete or erroneous information and business records "despite repeated requests."
Schiermeyer's lawsuit demands Thurston's removal as a Gala director, as well as numerous relief and damages payments, including the restoration of the allegedly stolen GALA.
Thurston also asked Schiermeyer's removal from Gala, as well as at least $750 million in various damages and compensation.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission sued Thurston, True North, and another firm he formed, Green United, in March for allegedly marketing stakes in a bogus crypto mining scam.
Schiermeyer and Thurston's attorneys were approached for comment but did not answer immediately.
Bonus rebate to help investors grow in the trading world!
