In reporting on Velovita’s acquisition of Jeunesse earlier this month, I very a lot felt like one thing was amiss.
Advertising recommended Velovita had solely acquired rights to sure areas, placing a query mark on the remainder of Jeunesse’s enterprise.
This was on prime of allegations made by Jeunesse co-founder Randy Ray in October, putting former Jeunesse CEO on the heart of a conspiracy to allegedly defraud him out of thousands and thousands.
In response to our Velovita acquisition article, a BehindMLM reader introduced up Greenway International’s claims of Jeunesse possession.
This was the primary I’d heard of Greenway International having something to do with Jeunesse so I seemed into it and, positive sufficient, there it was:
My analysis ultimately led me to a lawsuit filed by Velovita towards Greenway in November. Case filings make clear the matter, with Kevin Giguere allegedly in the course of yet one more scheme to misappropriate thousands and thousands.
Named defendants in Velovita’s November 4th filed Grievance are:
- Greenway US, LLC
- Greenway USA, LLC
- Jeunesse International Holdings LLC
- Jeunesse LLC, dba Jeunesse International
- Jeunesse Inc
- Kevin Giguere
- Suntitle Providers Inc., dba Title Providers and
- John Roby
In its lawsuit Velovia confirms it “acquired sure belongings of Jeunesse” in October 2024.
This contains Jeunesse LLC, Jeunesse International Holdings, LLC, and all of their direct and oblique wholly-owned subsidiaries.
These corporations got here with Jeunesse’s worldwide affiliate and buyer database, in addition to patents, advertising and marketing belongings (Jeunesse’s web site and many others.), product registrations, enterprise licenses and current product stock.
The crux of Velovita’s lawsuit is the allegation that Greenway International has
been deceptive Jeunesse distributors and prospects into believing they personal the Jeunesse Belongings and stating that they, not Velovita, have the fitting to promote and market Jeunesse merchandise.
Velovita claims it despatched Greenway International a stop and desist through e-mail on October twenty ninth.
Twelve hours after the e-mail was despatched, Greenway International is alleged to have despatched one other e-mail to Jeunesse distributors, claiming they had been partnered with the corporate.
[Greenway Global is] actively encouraging former leaders and workers of Jeunesse to misrepresent to different Jeunesse distributors that the Defendants personal the Jeunesse Belongings to steer these distributors to transition to Defendants.
In its protection Greenway International claims it “entered into contractual agreements” with Jeunesse. These agreements purportedly predate Velovita’s acquisition.
Velovita naturally dispute’s Greenway International’s alleged agreements, claiming;
Neither Jeunesse Inc. nor its mum or dad firm, VIP International Stars, Inc., nor any of its subsidiaries ever effectuated an settlement with Defendants, as Defendants failed to satisfy the expectations outlined within the agreements.
Even when there was a sound settlement, which there was not, the Defendants didn’t carry out on their guarantees.
For instance, the Defendants solely paid $2.1 million of the $10 million they dedicated to.
As to the expectations, Greenway International claims it “acted inside [its] rights … [and was] fraudulently mislead by the Jeunesse CEO, Kevin Giguere.
From Greenway International’s October thirty first response to Velovita’s stop and desist;
All actions taken by Greenway have been primarily based on authorized grounds and in accordance with contracts and agreements signed by Kevin Giguere on behalf of Jeunesse and Greenway.
Moreover, it seems that your organization is now claiming possession of property and belongings which can be topic of the contracts and agreements entered into between Giguere/Jeunesse and Greenway.
Greenway denies any tortious interference with the contractual or enterprise relationships of Velovita, as all actions taken by Greenway had been pursuant to contracts and agreements to which it’s a celebration.
Greenway intends to take all essential actions to get well the funds wrongfully obtained by Jeunesse and Giguere.
In an affidavit from Giguere, connected as an exhibit by Velovita, he states;
I started nationations with Greenway in June of 2024 to buy sure belongings of Jeunesse Inc., comparable to database data for particular nations solely reasonably than your complete Jeunesse database.
Regardless of exchanging a number of drafts, Greenway submitted paperwork to me for closing signature that I later found didn’t comport with our negotiations.
Greenway misrepresented to me that the phrases of those agreements had been in step with our oral conversations, which I relied upon in executing the agreements.
The negotiated phrases had been as follows:
Greenway was to pay Jeunesse $3 million {dollars} for chosen nations of the Jeunesse database and $7 million {dollars} to Jeunesse to be paid on a month-to-month foundation for a complete of $10 million {dollars}, plus fund a Jeunesse occasion in Singapore, and buy thousands and thousands of {dollars}’ value of stock on behalf of Jeunesse.
In alternate, Jeunesse was to ship the stock to Greenway’s chosen warehouse and switch the database data and chosen logos from the agreed upon nations.
However the misrepresentations, Greenway nonetheless didn’t carry out its obligations underneath any settlement or negotiated phrases by solely paying $2.1 million of the $10 million {dollars} promised and failing to gather the stock.
In consequence, Greenway didn’t and couldn’t take authorized title to any of the Jeunesse Belongings.
Regardless of Greenway’s shortcomings in fulfilling its obligations, it improperly and incorrectly communicated to all Jeunesse Distributors that it had acquired Jeunesse and subsequently revealed an article in Enterprise For Residence, which I didn’t authorize.
It’s unclear why Giguere handed over Jeunesse’s database, a lot the much less Jeunesse’s whole database, if Greenway had didn’t pay as agreed.
My attorneys despatched a cease-and-desist letter on behalf of Jeunesse, demanding that it take away the article on the time and stop its improper conduct, however Greenway refused.
The Jeunesse Belongings had been offered to a 3rd celebration underneath a confidential Asset Buy Settlement.
Upon data and perception, the Jeunesse Belongings had been then offered to Velovita.
Jeunesse Inc. is not the authorized proprietor of the Jeunesse Belongings, and it doesn’t have the authority to switch them to a different celebration, comparable to Greenway presently.
Of observe is Kevin Giguere being the first beneficiary of the purported Jeunesse Greenway settlement. From a letter of demand despatched by Jeunesse’s legal professionals to Greenway in August 2024;
By the use of this discover, Jeunesse calls for that inside 24 hours of this letter, Greenway deposit the contemplated buy worth of $10 million into escrow …
The $10 million in escrow will then be disbursed as follows:
- $1 million to Terry Lacore
- $1 million to Brian McMullin
- $550,000 to Vitaquest
- $400,000 to United One
- $200,000 to Uniwell
- $200,000 to Dr. Nathan Newman
- $50,000 to Dr Giampapa
- $2 million to Ryan Jumonville and
- $4.6 million to Kevin Giguere
Giguere is at present a named defendant in a separate lawsuit filed by Jeunesse co-founder Randy Ray.
Ray alleges Giguere was a part of a conspiracy to grab management of Jeunesse and steal thousands and thousands from him.
Defendants’ actions show that they intend to maintain concentrating on the Jeunesse database and promote Jeunesse merchandise utilizing stock and logos owned solely by Velovita.
To that finish, Velovita sought short-term and everlasting injunctions towards Greenway International. Compensatory damages, particular damages and authorized prices had been additionally sought.
On November fifteenth Velovia was awarded its requested Non permanent Restraining Order (TRO) towards the Greenway defendants.
The TRO prohibits the Greenway defendants from:
- soliciting Jeunesse distributors and prospects;
- “holding themselves out because the proprietor of or using Jeunesse Belongings”; and
- defaming Velovita or Jeunesse.
On November 18th Greenway filed its reply to Velovita’s criticism. Hooked up was a counterclaim, naming Velovita, Jeunesse entities, Kevin Giguere, Suntitle Providers and John Roby as defendants.
I don’t know why the necessity for secrecy however each Velovita’s Grievance and Greenway’s counter-claim cite whoever bought and offered Jeunesse to Velovita as “John Doe”.
This cited John Doe is a defendant in each Velovita’s Grievance and Greenway’s counterclaim.
Greenway claims Giguere contacted it in Might 2024 to beg for cash.
By way of a cellphone name on Might 29, 2024, Jeunesse’s CEO Giguere reached out to Greenway International Vice President Dany Loaroque asking for assist.
Giguere knowledgeable Laroque that Jeunesse was having issue paying commissions to its distributors and won’t survive until it instantly acquired a big inflow of money wanted to make sure fee of these commissions.
It must be famous these claims mirror these made by Randy Ray in his lawsuit towards Giguere.
Greenway goes on to assert, primarily based on Giguere’s representations, that it “executed a confidential Mutual Cooperation Settlement” (MCA).
Amongst different potential phrases, the MCA contemplated:
- the acquisition by the Greenway Entities and supply by Jeunesse of specified Jeunesse merchandise;
- the licensing of Jeunesse logos; and
- the switch of the Jeunesse community database.
Greenway claims Giguere led them to consider Jeunesse monetary issues had been attributable to “irregularity in Jeunesse’s distributor insurance policies”.
On this regard, Giguere mislead the Greenway Entities to consider it was in each events’ greatest curiosity for the Greenway Entities to advance funds to Jeunesse in order that Jeunesse may pay its distributors and thereby maintain the community of distributors collectively to guard Jeunesse’s goodwill pending the completion of the sale of the Jeunesse Belongings to the Greenway Entities.
In actuality, Jeunesse’s incapacity to pay its distributors was attributable to an undisclosed, underlying fraud described additional beneath because the “Level Scheme”.
The referenced “Level Scheme” is specified by element in Randy Ray’s Grievance towards Giguere.
The Kingpin Defendants carried out the Level Scheme by recruiting and directing members of the Operational Defendants to fraudulently add thousands and thousands of unearned factors onto sham accounts—the Community Defendants’ Jeunesse accounts.
In a nutshell, the “Level Scheme” sees Giguere and several other Jeunesse insiders accused of misappropriating thousands and thousands of {dollars} by manipulating Jeunesse’s affiliate database.
Getting again to Greenway’s counterclaim;
Unaware of the fraud, the Greenway Entities entered into two contracts to buy Jeunesse product for $2.1 million, and between July 1 and August nineteenth, 2024, the Greenway Entities in actual fact made funds to Jeunesse totalling $2.1 million.
Once more mirroring Randy Ray’s claims, Greenway claims the $2.1 million it paid Jeunesse and Giguere was misappropriated via the “Level Scheme”.
The Greenway Entities additionally found that almost all of the $2.1 million they paid Jeunesse and Giguere to pay fee to Jeunesse distributors was diverted to different events, together with Giguere personally, via [the] “Level Scheme”.
Citing promotional materials from Jeunesse in July 2024 noting the Greenway acquisition, Greenway claims that, regardless of the stop and desist despatched in late August, it
documented quite a lot of the agreements contemplated by the MCA in a sequence of contracts dated September 11, 2024.
These agreements lined mutual obligations, switch of the Jeunesse Community, switch of Jeunesse’s trademark rights and particulars of the deliberate October 2024 Singapore advertising and marketing occasion.
Greenway claims the agreements additionally required Giguere to signal a non-competition settlement, and surrender claims made within the late August stop and desist letter.
Greenway asserts it adhered to the phrases of the September agreements, whereas Giguere didn’t.
Regardless of the failure of Jeunesse and Giguere to carry out their obligations, Aqua Title and its escrow agent, John Roby, have failed and refused to return the $900,000 escrow deposit to Greenway.
Giguere didn’t acquire a letter from Greenberg Traurig withdrawing his claims within the GT demand letter. Notably, nonetheless, Giguere has admitted his claims and allegations within the GT demand letter are false and don’t have any foundation in legislation or reality.
The truth is, Giguere despatched a letter to Greenway International’s Leonid Morgunov renouncing all claims and allegations made within the GT Demand Letter, together with false claims that the Greenway Entities had been obligated to deposit $10,000,000 into an escrow account in reference to the events’ agreements.
In alternate for his or her fraudulent induced July and August 2024 funds to Jeunesse totaling $2.1 million, the Greenway Entities acquired solely $32,740 value of Jeunesse product.
Jeunesse Holdings didn’t take all steps essential to totally switch the Jeunesse knowledge community to Greenway US and didn’t execute all agreements essential to impact the switch of Jeunesse logos.
Giguere didn’t execute a non-competition settlement.
The Greenway entities financed the October 26-27, 2024 EXPO occasion – to the tune of $2.7 million – whereas Jeunesse sabotaged its goal.
Along with many different failures to adjust to the EXPO Settlement, Jeunesse didn’t promote the brand new enterprise between Greenway International and Jeunesse International, which was the aim of the occasion.
The truth is, Jeunesse’s Vice President, Jason Borne, who was scheduled to be the first host of the EXPO, referred to as in sick at 7:00am the morning of the occasion claiming that he wanted to fly house as a result of he was in poor health.
Because it seems, Borne was not sick the primary day of the EXPO however as a substitute was busy internet hosting a pre-planned assembly with Velovita representatives, together with Velovita Kosta Gara, in Jeunesse’s Singapore workplace.
It must be famous right here that this flip of occasions is especially unusual given Terry LaCore’s possession curiosity in each Jeunesse and Velovita.
By way of LaCore Enterprises, LaCore (proper) bought Jeunesse in January 2023. Velovita has been a LaCore Enterprises firm since launch in 2020.
So in impact, we’ve got two LaCore Enterprises corporations going to extraordinary lengths to strike a secret deal between themselves, whereas concurrently screwing over a 3rd celebration.
Such to the extent Velovita and Kosta Gara had been explicitly conscious of the Jeunesse’s Greenway Singapore occasion obligations is unclear, ditto LaCore.
Greenway’s countersuit continues;
A big portion of the roughly $2.7 million in bills funded by the Greenway Entities was for flights and lodging for prime Jeunesse distributors from world wide to attend and take part within the EXPO.
Lots of Jeunesse’s prime distributors had been invited to and attended the Jeunesse-Velovita assembly reasonably than the EXPO, even via the Greenway Entities had paid for his or her flights and lodging in order that they may attend the EXPO.
This left Greenway US in a scramble to host a multi-million greenback, two-day occasion for 4000 folks – with out the promised Jeunesse merchandise and with out Borne, the scheduled Jeunesse host – solely two hours earlier than the doorways opened.
The EXPO was additional thrown into chaos by rumors that started circulating that Giguere had purportedly offered Jeunesse to a different firm, Velovita.
This was the primary time the Greenway Entities had any inkling Giguere and Jeunesse didn’t intend to carry out the Transaction agreements.
The sabotage of the EXPO by Giguere and Jeunesse triggered the occasion to be extraordinarily pricey to the Greenway Entities and unsuccessful for its goal.
Worse but, it shook the Jeunesse distributors’ religion and confidence in Greenway US, a catastrophic incidence for any MLM firm.
Greenway maintains its personal buy agreements supersede that of Velovita.
The Greenway Entities have discovered that Giguere and Jeunesse fraudulently hid liens on the Jeunesse Belongings, together with a number of lien in favor of Velovita.
Velovita, in the meantime, has misappropriated for its personal use the Jeunesse Belongings that had been offered to and paid for by the Greenway Entities, regardless of having, on data and perception, prior discover of the Greenway Entities’ prior and superseding possession curiosity within the Jeunesse Belongings.
Velovita is now utilizing the Jeunesse Belongings to solicit each Jeunesse and Greenway US distributors, in addition to threatening American Jeunesse distributors who’ve promoted the Jeunesse Greenway US enterprise enterprise.
All up Greenway International claims it has
paid roughly $5.7 million in reliance on Jeunesse/Giguere’s fraudulent representations … in return, the Greenway Entities acquired solely $32,740 value of products and a bunch of empty and deceptive guarantees.
On December ninth, the courtroom denied Velovita’s requested TRO (additionally dissolving the beforehand granted TRO).
In its order, the courtroom decided;
Greenway had paid greater than $7 million to Jeunesse in furtherance of the agreements it entered into with Jeunesse.
Velovita’s declare that Greenway has misled Jeunesse distributors is predicated on the truth that Greenway has acted in furtherance of the rights it acquired pursuant to the contracts it entered into with Jeunesse.
There was by no means any settlement during which Greenway agreed to pay Jeunesse $10 million, and this reality is confirmed in a letter signed by Kevin Giguere on September 12, 2024.
The TRO beforehand obtained by Velovita prevents Greenway from soliciting Velovita and Jeunesse distributors regardless of the absence of any non-solicitation provision or settlement in place between Velovita and Greenway.
The TRO has prevented Greenway from promoting Jeunesse merchandise that it lawfully bought. Lots of the merchandise have a shelf life that may expire, and the merchandise will probably be worthless if not offered earlier than the shelf life expires.
[Velovita] has didn’t show with competent, substantial proof a probability of success on the deserves.
As of December twenty fourth, the result of the dispute between Velovita and Greenway stays pending. Keep tuned for updates at BehindMLM continues to trace the case.