Dan Bilzerian’s Ontario-based cannabis company under investigation

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Ignite International Brands Ltd., a cannabis company led by social-media influencer Dan Bilzerian, is under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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The agency issued a litigation release earlier this week, noting that it “has filed an action against Ignite International Brands, Ltd., a publicly traded company based in Ontario, Canada, seeking an order directing it to comply with an investigative subpoena for documents.”

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Among other things, the SEC is investigating whether the Markham, Ont.-headquartered company violated the federal securities laws by making false or misleading statements in reporting its 2020 financial results.

The company has failed to produce requested documents, despite multiple accommodations from SEC staff, according to the release.

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“The SEC is continuing its fact-finding investigation and, to date, has not concluded that any individual or entity has violated the federal securities laws,” the release adds.

The company, which sells a line of cannabis and CBD products, such as CBD-infused toothpicks, reportedly lost $67 million in 2019 and stayed afloat by raising money via debt and selling shares of the company’s stock.

Bilzerian, the CEO of Ignite and a professional poker player, routinely documents a lavish lifestyle on his Instagram account, which has nearly 34 million followers. He is the son of millionaire Paul Bilzerian, who was jailed for 13 months in the 1980s as a result of filing incomplete disclosures to the SEC.

The company recently went private but was previously traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the ticker “BILZ.” In 2020, the company was trading for around 94 cents a share, down from a high of more than $5.

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Last year, the company announced it was pulling out of the Canadian market, citing “too many barriers to build a successful cannabis business.”

“The government’s excessive restrictions of the marketing, sales and distribution of products has diminished the business opportunity while simultaneously making the consumer experience less than optimal,” Bilzerian said at the time.

In the interim, Bilzerian has continued to document a jet-setting lifestyle on social media, including throwing large parties at his Bel-Air mansion. The 31,000-square-foot residence boasts a 12-foot waterfall, a movie theatre, a bowling alley, a nine-car garage filled with luxury vehicles, three dining rooms, seven bars, and a walk-in bong closet.

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