Drake, Stake, and Others Face Class-Action Lawsuit Over Alleged Music Streaming Scheme

A class-action lawsuit has been filed against Drake, Stake, and other defendants, alleging a conspiracy to rig games and boost music streaming through illegal gambling. The lawsuit alleges that defendants used the Stake platform to discreetly transfer money to each other to finance fraudulent music botting campaigns.

The lawsuit alleges that the defendants used Stake's encrypted “tipping” feature to disseminate payments to bot operators and amplifiers. The lawsuit alleges that DJ Akademiks and another defendant coordinated funds through different payment platforms and created and paid for promotion on social media to create fictitious praise for Drake and Ross and their music.

The lawsuit alleges that George Nguyen acted as the facilitator to convert Stake-based cryptocurrency into cash and used those funds to coordinate with bot vendors to boost the musicians’ music streaming. The lawsuit alleges that Stake has “outright rigged its own games in favor of Drake and Ross, in order to increase the promotional value of Drake’s use of the Stake platform and make Stake.us seem more enticing to users and potential consumers.”