It's only the second day of the new year, and Drake is already embroiled in legal troubles as he is now accused of illegally transferring money through gaming site Stake to purchase fake streams of his music.
According to StereogumA new RICO class action lawsuit was filed this Wednesday (December 31) in Virginia, naming Drake, streamer Adin Ross, Australian music video maker George Nguyen, and online casino Stake (Stake.us) as defendants.
The lawsuit, filed by two users of the online casino Stake.us, alleges that Drake, who is paid to promote the online casino, and Ross used Stake's tipping feature to transfer money (including up to $100,000 at a time) to each other and Nguyen. Nguyen then allegedly used the money to artificially inflate Drake's stream count on multiple platforms, including Spotify. [per Toronto Star].
According to PitchforkStake operates in states where online gambling for real money is outlawed, which can be circumvented by selling “play money” that comes with free tokens. Play money is useless, but tokens can be wagered and then converted into cash for withdrawal. If a judge rules the practice illegal, Drake and Ross could be prosecuted for promoting Stake.us.
An excerpt from the complaint reads:
At the heart of the scheme, Drake, acting directly and through willing and knowledgeable accomplices, used automated bots and streaming farms to artificially inflate the number of plays of his music on major platforms such as Spotify. These inauthentic streams were created to confuse royalty and recommendation systems, generate popularity, skew playlists and charts, and divert both value and audience attention. The manipulation allegedly suppressed genuine artists and reduced consumers' access to legitimate content, undermining the integrity of curated experiences.
Virginia's lawsuit follows other class action lawsuits in Missouri and New Mexico that accuse Drake, Ross and Stake of promoting an illegal gambling scheme in Missouri and New Mexico. last October.
