Can you sue Facebook if you’re being scammed online?

Regarding the Juicy Fields marijuana Ponzi scam, Swedish attorney Lars Olofsson has filed a class action lawsuit against Meta (META), the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. The scam affected over 800 people in around 80 countries, notably in Spain, France, Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands and Malta, and each of them is supporting the ongoing litigation.

The lawsuit alleges that Facebook failed to monitor who they authorized to use the platform and apparently violated Meta’s own terms of service. According to lawyer Olofsson, Facebook’s omission constitutes gross negligence. Violations of the Swedish Criminal Code for fraud, aggravated fraud, abetting fraud and aggravated fraud are among the allegations leveled against Meta.

The prosecutor’s request to continue the case against Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms Inc. META, was granted by a Swedish court in Lule. Olofsson said he filed a case in the Swedish city of Lule because that’s where the meta-network’s central data center is located. Olofsson claims the court’s prompt decision, which came just 36 hours after the case was filed, is already a “big win” that will “send a warning to the others we have in the legal process that we’re flat out.” move on, with more lawsuits in the meantime.” Olofsson told the Green Market Report that he would also be taking legal action against Google, CNN and Youtube for the roles they played or didn’t play while the scam was active.

The Beginning: The JuicyFields Ponzi Scam

Founded in 2020, JuicyFields offered a service where investors, or as the company called them “e-growers,” could participate in the cultivation, harvesting, and sale of cannabis plants with monthly returns ranging from 6% to 14%. . According to JuicyFields, 500,000 people use the site, mostly in Europe and Latin America. With a minimum investment of €50 (about $51), users can invest up to €180,000 ($183,000).

Cash can be added and withdrawn via bank transfer or digital currency. Users could tend the plants in virtual greenhouses, buy and sell them and be compensated for their transactions. In mid-July, JuicyFields abruptly ceased operations. Cash withdrawals were stopped, juicyfields profiles were deleted from social networks and everything disappeared without a trace. As a result, its users were unable to access their accounts and withdraw funds.

Investigators claim the company attracted investors by launching advertising campaigns via social media influencers, recommendation systems and publishing articles on a number of news outlets, thereby building a reputation that would attract more users to the platform. According to journalistic research by Spanish publication El Paso Financiero, JuicyFields claimed to have agreements with leading members of the cannabis industry, such as Aurora Cannabis and Canopy Growth. However, major players in the cannabis sector denied having any connection with the cannabis investment site. The scope of the alleged deception by JuicyFields is unclear. Tens of millions to billions of dollars have been estimated.

Lawsuit against social and news media platforms

Olofsson was interested in the scam because it affected thousands of people worldwide and made headlines. The attorney is already preparing a class action lawsuit against a range of social and mainstream media outlets, which he says have helped advance the program.

At the time, Olofsson told Green Market Report: “I am now initially pursuing legal action against Facebook, Google, CNN and YouTube. All have enabled JuicyFields to advertise on their respective platforms or publications alongside regular operations.

The governments of Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Cyprus are also the target of Olofsson’s criticism for “a terrible absence of their tax authorities, who have not realized what is going on”.

At the time of the platform collapse that exposed the truth about scams, there were around 125,000 investor accounts on it. Although Olofsson believes the $2 billion to $2.5 billion in those 125,000 accounts is likely to have been used up, he will still represent about 800 litigants to ensure some sort of justice is achieved. Olofsson also revealed that he has a lot of information about several companies, individuals, government agencies, and banks that have neglected their duties or allowed JuicyFields to engage in sales and marketing over the two years that the scam has been active.

The Facebook lawsuit

In 2011, Meta opened its first data center outside of the United States in Lule, north of the Arctic Circle. This facility serves “nearly a billion Facebook and Instagram users, including most of my clients,” according to Olofsson. “This is where, according to the premise, the crime happened. My clients came into contact with the JuicyFields scam through these servers.

The complaint states: “The main marketing was through social media, where they reached out to new investors and developed groups where they could interact and foster a sense of community, as well as encouraging others to come along and invest in the company.”

Olofsson alleges that Zuckerberg acted negligently as Meta’s CEO by failing to monitor who was using the company’s services. Additionally, it is alleged that his negligent actions constituted a violation of the company’s own terms of service, which is illegal under Swedish anti-fraud laws. Such laws provide for penalties of two to six years for violations.

He also mentioned that further legal action would be taken at home and abroad. The attorney previously stated that while the investigation is difficult, to say the least, 70 people, 60 banks and 40 companies associated with JuicyFields’ business and advertising have already been effectively identified.

bottom line

Olofsson appears to be setting a precedent by taking over internet powerhouses for a lack of due diligence in illicit operations conducted by their clients, marketers and affiliates. He pursues corporate giants in the banking and media industries who aided JucyField’s illegal activities by indirectly profiting from them, as well as some well-known activists and supporters of cannabis legalization who were on Juicyfield’s payroll.