Marathon Shareholders Sue Executives for Misconduct and Self-Enrichment

The shareholders of Marathon Digital, a crypto mining company based in the United States, have filed a complaint against CEO Fred Thiel and other senior executives. The complaint was submitted in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada on July 8, 2023

The complaint is based on five claims against the company executives, which include:

alleging violations of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act,
breaches of fiduciary duties,
self-enrichment, and
the misuse of company resources.

The shareholder’s legal team stated that the company’s management has allegedly downplayed its issues, and artificially inflated Marathon’s valuation, while excessively compensating themselves. They accused of the executives of engaging in profitable insider sales and obtaining undeservedly heightened bonuses through the use of deceptive and misleading statements.

The plaintiffs are also seeking potential payments from CEO Thiel, along with the top executives, namely Merrick Okamoto, Simeon Salzman, and Hugh Gallagher, in relation to their alleged wrongful acts that led to a complaint filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against the company. The legal team has not specified a particular amount in their demand from the defendants; they opted to leave the determination of any compensation to the court.

The shareholders also seek to enhance the company’s governance by strengthening the board’s oversight of operations. They propose nominating a minimum of four candidates from the shareholder pool to serve on the board and eliminating the current process of directors’ elections.

In May 2023, Marathon revealed in its quarterly report that it had received a series of subpoenas from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding potential breaches of securities laws.

The Bitcoin mining company also acknowledged the U.S. SEC’s investigation into possible federal securities regulations infractions in its operations. It also noted that it is cooperating with the regulator about this matter.

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