Ava Labs CEO dismisses CryptoLeaks accusations of pressuring rivals as ‘nonsense’

The head of Ava Labs, the blockchain company behind Avalanche, Emin Gün Sirer, refuted CryptoLeaks’ allegations that it used a law firm to go after competitors.

How could anyone believe something so ridiculous as the conspiracy theory nonsense on Cryptoleaks? We would never engage in the unlawful, unethical and just plain wrong behavior claimed in these self-serving videos and inflammatory article. Our tech & team speak for themselves.

— Emin Gün Sirer🔺 (@el33th4xor) August 28, 2022

According to the publication’s claim, the company entered into a “secret agreement” with the American firm Roche Freedman to use the legal system in a gangster-like manner to attack and harm crypto organizations.

In the CryptoLeaks videos, the attorney Kyle Roche allegedly describes in detail the relationships and partnership with Emin Gün Sirer and Kevin Sekniak, Ava Labs’ chief operating officer.

CryptoLeaks claimed that Roche and Roche Freedman entered into a deal to provide legal services in exchange for AVAX tokens and equity in the crypto company. The firm allegedly undertook to use the “judicial process as a tool to undermine competitors and draw regulators’ attention to them,” such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

According to CryptoLeaks, the ties between Roche and Gün Sirer began in academic circles; in 2019 they moved into a coworking space together. It was roughly around that time that the agreement purportedly followed.

«We struck a deal under which I would provide legal services in exchange for a certain percentage of the token offering», — Roche says in the video.

In another excerpt, the lawyer admitted that they used legal services as a “strategic tool to support Ava Labs.”

«I sue half the companies in this space; I know where the market is headed. I think I’m one of the 10 best crypto experts in the world. I’ve seen the inside of every crypto company», — the lawyer says in the video.

CryptoLeaks noted that filing the suit allows access to the defendant’s internal confidential data. Roche Freedman’s preferred method is to use class actions.

The class action is considered “protected speech,” allowing the firm to make false statements without fear of liability. Financial risks are also limited to direct costs, and defendants cannot seek reimbursement of expenses in the event of a win.

«How could anyone believe something so ridiculous as the conspiracy theory nonsense on CryptoLeaks? We would never engage in the unlawful, unethical and just plain wrong behavior claimed in these self-serving videos and inflammatory article. Our tech & team speak for themselves», — Emin Gün Sirer responds to the publication.

Berkeley Law professor Jay Nicholas Gross commented on the CryptoLeaks investigation:

«Every lawyer has a “special” arrangement with their client and is obligated to zealously represent the client within ethics rules. Each lawyer is paid in whatever form the client can provide—money or equity. Every lawyer sues their client’s competitors».

EVERY lawyer has a «special» arrangement with their client
its protected by privilege + attys are obligated to zealously represent their clients within ethics rules
EVERY lawyer is paid in whatever form client can provide ($ or equity)
EVERY lawyer sues his clients’ competitors

— J Nicholas Gross (@JNGross) August 28, 2022

However, citing Roche’s admission, CryptoLeaks contends that Gün Sirer used legal services to pursue a Turkish expert who had long-running disputes with him and had come to the United States.

The publication contends that Roche Cyrulnik Freedman’s involvement in the Dave Kleiman’s relatives’ case against Craig Wright is also linked to the head of Ava Labs’s personal interests.

According to CryptoLeaks, Roche had said a few months ago that his firm was pursuing 25 class-action suits. In April, it emerged that 11 crypto companies, including Binance, BitMEX, KuCoin and Tron Foundation, had faced class-action lawsuits from Roche Cyrulnik Freedman.

CryptoLeaks says that former partner Jason Cyrulnik was ousted from the firm by a vote to deprive him of his stake in the Ava Labs deal.

In June Roche Freedman filed a suit against Binance.US and the CEO Brian Shroder on behalf of investors in LUNA and TerraUSD.

In July the firm’s targets were key figures in the Solana ecosystem, whom on behalf of investors the lawyers accused of illegal sale of securities in the form of the SOL token.

Read ForkLog’s Bitcoin news in our Telegram — cryptocurrency news, prices and analytics.