I Filed a Fede al Lawsuit Seeki g P oof of Robi hood’s Claimed 1:1 Backi g of AMC Stock Toke s: We Do ‘t Need A othe FTX
I am aski g the fede al cou t to equi e evide ce showi g whe Robi hood acqui ed the actual AMC sha es, whe e those sha es a e held, who the lice sed custodia is, a d the custodial ag eeme ts gove i g those sha es.
My positio is st aightfo wa d: If eve y AMC Stock Toke is backed 1:1 by a actual AMC sha e, the eco ds should p ove it.
My case, Geo ge v. Robi hood Ma kets, I c., et al., Case No. 0:26-CV-62482, is pe di g i the U ited States Dist ict Cou t fo the Southe Dist ict of Flo ida.
I am ow aski g the Cou t to autho ize limited expedited discove y so Robi hood ca p ovide docume ta y evide ce suppo ti g its public ep ese tatio s co ce i g the backi g of AMC Stock Toke s.
Robi hood publicly ep ese ts that eve y Stock Toke i ci culatio is backed 1:1 by the co espo di g u de lyi g equity a d that the u de lyi g sha es a e held by a U.S.-based custody pa t e .
My positio is st aightfo wa d: If eve y AMC Stock Toke is backed 1:1 by a actual AMC sha e, the eco ds should p ove it.
I Am Aski g fo P oof, Not Assu a ces
I am aski g the Cou t to autho ize discove y equi i g eco ds sufficie t to establish whe AMC Stock Toke s we e mi ted, issued a d sold a d, c itically, whe the co espo di g actual AMC sha es we e pu chased.
I am seeki g eco ds showi g the dates a d times of the toke t a sactio s, the umbe of toke s i volved, the dates a d times co espo di g AMC sha es we e acqui ed, qua tities pu chased, executio p ices, executi g b oke s a d/o t adi g ve ues, settleme t i fo matio a d eco ds establishi g whe the AMC sha es we e placed i to the custody a a geme t.
I am also seeki g ide tificatio of Robi hood’s lice sed U.S.-based custodia , togethe with eleva t custodial a d secu ity-age t ag eeme ts gove i g the u de lyi g AMC sha es.
The Timi g Matte s
This is o e of the most impo ta t issues I am aski g the Cou t to exami e.
It would ot be e ough fo Robi hood simply to demo st ate that it possesses millio s of AMC sha es today.
I wa t the eco ds to establish whe those sha es we e acqui ed compa ed with whe the co espo di g AMC Stock Toke s we e issued a d sold.
Fo example, if a AMC Stock Toke was sold o Mo day but the co espo di g AMC sha e was ot acqui ed u til F iday, evide ce showi g that Robi hood possessed the sha e o F iday would ot establish that the toke was backed by that sha e o Mo day.
That is why I am seeki g a ch o ological eco ciliatio showi g:
AMC Stock Toke s issued a d outsta di g → co espo di g AMC sha es pu chased → settleme t of those sha es → placeme t with the custodia → co ti uous 1:1 eco ciliatio .
If Robi hood’s ep ese tatio s a e accu ate, I believe these eco ds should p ovide a clea a swe .
This Could E d a Majo Pa t of the Dispute Quickly
I am ot i te ested i u ecessa ily p olo gi g litigatio .
If Robi hood p oduces compete t, authe ticated eco ds demo st ati g that the AMC Stock Toke s at issue we e co ti uously backed 1:1 by ge ui e AMC commo sha es co siste t with its public ep ese tatio s, I am p epa ed to evaluate dismissal of the claims that depe d upo a alleged abse ce o i adequacy of that backi g.
The pu pose of seeki g this discove y is to obtai ve ificatio .
The fili g of my lawsuit does ot establish that Robi hood’s ep ese tatio s a e false, a d the Cou t has ot dete mi ed that Robi hood failed to pu chase o custody the co espo di g AMC sha es.
That is p ecisely why I am aski g fo the u de lyi g evide ce.
My Six-Mo th AMC Ma ket-I teg ity I vestigatio Raises Additio al Questio s
This lawsuit comes afte my fi m co ducted a six-mo th ma ket-i teg ity eview of AMC t adi g activity.
My i vestigatio ide tified a omalies that, i my p ofessio al assessme t, wa a t deepe i vestigatio .
My ma ket-i teg ity wo k exami es a eas i cludi g off-excha ge t adi g, sho t-sale activity, failu es to delive , secu ities le di g, optio s activity a d othe ma ket data capable of ide tifyi g u usual t adi g patte s.
I wa t to be equally clea about this poi t: a a omaly is ot by itself p oof of illegal ma ket ma ipulatio .
A omalies tell a i vestigato whe e deepe i vestigatio may be ecessa y. Some of the i fo matio equi ed to each defi itive co clusio s is ot available th ough o di a y public ma ket data.
That is why obtai i g ve ifiable eco ds is so impo ta t.
Why This Gives Me “FTX 2.0” Co ce s
I have desc ibed this situatio as givi g me “FTX 2.0 vibes.”
I am ot sayi g Robi hood is FTX, o am I allegi g that Robi hood has committed the misco duct committed by FTX o its executives.
What co ce s me is the p i ciple i volved.
Whe i vesto s a e offe ed toke ized fi a cial p oducts a d told that u de lyi g assets exist to suppo t those p oducts, I believe the existe ce, timi g a d custody of those assets should be i depe de tly ve ifiable.
The lesso i vesto s lea ed f om FTX should be that ep ese tatio s about backi g a d custody should ot simply be accepted whe t a sactio a d custody eco ds ca establish the facts.
Show the sha es.Show whe they we e pu chased.Show whe they settled.Ide tify the lice sed custodia .Show the custodial ag eeme t.A d show that the umbe of actual AMC sha es matched the AMC Stock Toke s whe those toke s we e issued a d outsta di g.
If eve ythi g matches Robi hood’s public ep ese tatio s, the eco ds should demo st ate that.
If they do ot, the I believe i vesto s, AMC sha eholde s, egulato s a d the Cou t dese ve to u de sta d why.
My Objective Is T a spa e cy
As the fou de of Do ahue Geo ge I vestigatio s, my objective is ma ket t a spa e cy a d i vesto p otectio .
Toke izatio may become a i c easi gly impo ta t pa t of the fi a cial ma kets. But i ovatio should ot elimi ate the ability to ve ify the assets ep ese ted as backi g fi a cial p oducts.
I filed this actio because I believe these questio s dese ve a swe s suppo ted by eco ds— ot speculatio f om eithe side.
Do ahue Geo geFou de Do ahue Geo ge I vestigatio sDo ahueGeo geI vestigatio s.com
Do ahue Geo ge I vestigatio s is a Flo ida-lice sed p ivate i vestigatio age cy specializi g i secu ities ma ket i vestigatio s, ma ket i teg ity mo ito i g, fi a cial f aud a alysis, litigatio suppo t, a d expe t wit ess se vices. The fi m p ovides i depe de t i vestigative a alysis to publicly t aded compa ies, boa ds of di ecto s, legal cou sel, i stitutio al i vesto s, a d sha eholde s. Its wo k focuses o ide tifyi g a d docume ti g u usual ma ket activity, i cludi g sho t-selli g activity, failu es to delive , off-excha ge t adi g, secu ities le di g, optio s activity, a d othe t adi g a omalies that may wa a t fu the i vestigatio . Do ahue Geo ge I vestigatio s is committed to p omoti g t a spa e cy, accou tability, i vesto p otectio , a d co fide ce i U.S. capital ma kets.
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