Layer1 cofounder challenges ownership of $20 million power plant

Layer1 cofounder and former president Yakov Dolich filed a motion to enjoin the sale by the company of a $20 million power plant and to have himself declared its owner.

The Western District Court of Texas ruled in Dolich’s favor in the absence of Layer1 representatives.

Dolic v s Layer1 by ForkLog on Scribd

In an interview with The Block, Dolich’s former partner and current Layer1 CEO Alex Ligl stated that the claims are based on inaccurate and false statements. The company does not plan to sell the disputed asset.

Dolich founded Layer1 together with Ivan Kirillov and Alex Ligl in June 2019. The latter took on the role of chief executive officer.

According to Dolich’s statement, Ligl expressed confidence that he could secure “significant funding” of $50 million from venture investors. The funds were to be used to purchase a 100 MW substation on a 30-acre site for deploying a mining business.

Facing difficulties attracting investors, they agreed that Dolich would finance the purchase from his own funds. After the fundraising was completed, he would have the opportunity to reimburse the expenses.

The document notes that in July 2019 Dolich wired $16 million to Hodl Ranch’s account, and in October another $7 million for additional capacities of 50 MW. Layer1 was the buyer in the deal.

Dolich claims that in 2019-2020 Ligl failed to raise funds from venture investors and he continued transferring money — totaling $6.4 million over this period.

“Apart from Dolich’s contributions, Layer1 had no other sources of income or capital. According to available information, Ligl never invested his own funds and did not attract any investments,” is mentioned in the motion.

In October 2019, media citing an investor presentation reported that Layer1 raised $50 million in a financing round with the participation of PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel and the Winklevoss brothers.

According to BnkToTheFuture, by January 2020 the company had raised a total of $41.39 million in investments.

According to Dolich, since September he began suspecting Ligl of misappropriating funds. Specifically, he found that his partner was paying himself “significant consulting fees” without his knowledge and approval.

As a result of the dispute, Dolich was barred from access to information across all aspects of Layer1’s operations. His 75% stake in the company was “confiscated”.

Dolich says that after his departure the company faced a severe liquidity crunch. He says that to address the problems Ligl decided to put the Texas substation up for sale at a discounted price even before Dolich could challenge the deal.

Earlier ForkLog wrote that Layer1 was accused of deceiving investors.

In August the company was accused of patent infringement.

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