Boxabl Sues Former Employee and Fraudster Iani Tassev in Federal Court

Boxabl Inc., a prominent construction technology company, has filed a lawsuit against its former employee, Yanni Tassev, also known as Iani Tassev, accusing him of numerous violations, including breach of contract, misuse of trade secrets, violations of the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act, violations of the Defend Trade Secrets Act, and breach of an employment agreement, confidentiality agreement, and severance agreement.

Iani has been accused in a number of other previous crimes and lawsuits, including in 2011 when the state of New York pursued criminal charges against Iani for "smuggling more than 1,000 kilos of high potency pot across the Canadian border" according to a New York Post article. Iani, when asked for questioning, confirmed he plead guilty to these charges and plead guilty to the crimes.

There are several other civil lawsuits for a New York resident by the name of Iani Tassev as well. This includes a 2017 case for breach of contract in which Iani Tassev was found liable for breaching the contract. And, more recently in 2020 with his time in Nevada with Boxabl, a debt collection action against Iani, in which he was also found liable.

In the filed complaint, Boxabl alleges that Tassev, who was employed as an "efficiency specialist," breached the terms of his employment agreement by disclosing and misusing confidential company information. This included proprietary designs, manufacturing processes, corporate data, and investor lists. The proprietary information was developed through extensive research and represented significant company trade secrets.

The complaint details how, after his termination in January 2023, Tassev reportedly began fraudulent activities involving the unauthorized sale of Boxabl's shares. The company became aware of these irregularities in March 2023 when an investor contacted them regarding a suspicious transfer of shares from Tassev. Upon investigation, it was discovered that Tassev had allegedly stolen a Boxabl stock transfer template to sell counterfeit Boxabl shares to unsuspecting investors.

Boxabl's investigation also revealed text messages where Tassev admitted to the fraudulent transfers, expressing embarrassment for his actions. The company estimates that Tassev defrauded investors of over $1 million using the stolen information. This misconduct was reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a tipline is currently present on the companies site.

Furthermore, the company alleges that Tassev created a Facebook group to spread negative and misleading information about Boxabl, further damaging the company's reputation.

The company maintains that it has fully honored its obligations under the employment, confidentiality, and severance agreements. It accuses Tassev of breaching these agreements and causing or potentially causing the firm irreparable harm. The harm includes loss of business, potential business, client and contractor goodwill, compromise of Boxabl's trade secrets and confidential information, and compromise of Boxabl's competitive advantages in its industry.

Boxabl alleges Tassev violated the Computer Fraud & Abuse Act by intentionally and deceptively accessing Boxabl's confidential, proprietary, and trade secret information on the company's computer systems. He is accused of accessing, obtaining, downloading, and retaining such information for his benefit, contrary to the employment, confidentiality, and severance agreements.

In a violation of the Defend Trade Secrets Act, Boxabl accuses Tassev of misappropriating, using, and potentially disclosing the company's trade secrets, causing the company significant harm. The trade secrets include research, manufacturing processes, and customer and investor lists.

Tassev is also accused of converting Boxabl's confidential, proprietary, and trade secret information for his benefit, constituting the tort of conversion. This act is said to have caused damages to Boxabl.

In addition, Tassev is accused of unjust enrichment, benefiting from fraudulent stock transfers and causing financial harm to Boxabl. His actions are also deemed to violate the covenant of good faith and fair dealing implied in the employment agreement.

Boxabl seeks temporary and permanent injunctive relief, preventing Tassev from using or destroying any information obtained from Boxabl, and from disclosing or revealing any of Boxabl’s confidential documents or data. The company also seeks a constructive trust on all of Tassev’s improper earnings, and unjust enrichment resulting from Tassev’s wrongful use and disclosure of Boxabl’s confidential and trade secret information.

The company requests relief including temporary, preliminary, and permanent injunctive relief, other equitable relief, actual damages, attorneys’ fees, common law interest, punitive damages, and the costs and fees of these proceedings.