The two investors who appeared on the ABC business reality show have been named defendants in a fraud lawsuit launched by 20 people across the United States.
- September 3, 2021
AceShowbiz - "Shark Tank" investors Kevin O'Leary and Kevin Harrington have been accused of scamming hopeful entrepreneurs.
The businessmen have been hit by a lawsuit from 20 people across the US, which has alleged they worked together to defraud people through the alleged use of "fictional executives, false promises of financial success, and even illusions of being on the show Shark Tank itself."
According to legal documents obtained by Entertainment Tonight, the pair allegedly used a "predatory fraud scheme to induce inventors and entrepreneurs to hire one of two companies, InventureX or Ideazon."
The entrepreneurs claim they were asked to invest financial resources into them and in return were "promised that they would receive help with crowd funding to start their businesses."
However, after paying InventureX and Ideazon, they didn't receive any help or support.
The documents state, "These companies turned out to be nothing less than facades designed to lure in unsuspecting victims, extract their money and then virtually disappear under the guise of delays, minimal to no performance, and no results."
The lawsuit suggests it is possible the companies don't even really exist or could both be a front to scam potential investors.
A probe into InventureX and Ideazon revealed "they used the same success stories, same percentage rates of success, same marketing/promotional ideas, same promises/representations, same agreements, same bank accounts and one entity pulling both their strings: Defendant Crowdfund, LLC."
Harrington - who appeared regularly on the first two seasons of "Shark Tank" - is listed as a partner and primary executive of InventureX" while O'Leary, who has been on the panel since 2009, allegedly "endorsed and recommended" the same two companies.
The people who have filed the fraud case claim their losses could run to hundreds of thousands of dollars per plaintiff.
The lawsuit is asking for damages, economic loss, emotional distress and legal fees to be paid by the two reality TV stars.
According to TMZ, the 20 people attached to the suit represent a small portion of potential victims, which could ultimately run into the hundreds.
