Drake, Adin Ross Named in Music Botting Lawsuit Involving Stake

After more than a year of being told he’s “Not like us,” rapper Drake was named in a class-action lawsuit involving an illegal online casino.

Drake, along with steamer Adin Ross and Australian national George Nguyen, were accused of promoting Stake, a cryptocurrency-based online casino, and using their funds to illegally inflate his music streams. The pair allegedly “obscure[d] transmissions of money” to further their “music botting campaigns.”

The lawsuit was submitted on New Year’s Eve.

Illegal stream botting

The suit, which was filed on behalf of LaShawnna Ridley and Tiffany Harris, said that Drake and Adin Ross were “zealous promoters” of Stake.com and Stake.us, the American sweepstakes casino version of the crypto-based platform.

According to the details, the three men used Stake’s user-to-user tipping service to transfer money between them. That allowed the men to use Stake to facilitate money transfers without any oversight, which they used to help inflate Drake’s music streams and denigrate competitors. 

“[Stake acted as] an unlimited and wholly unregulated money transmitter that appears to exist outside the oversight of any financial regulator,” the lawsuit read.

Claims of “botting,” or using programs to artificially inflate Drake’s music streams, were also included in a recent lawsuit against Spotify.

Drake is accused of having fabricated his image and popularity through botting, disparaging competitors and industry executives, and altered music-listening apps’ algorithms for his benefit.

“At the heart of the scheme, Drake — acting directly and through willing and knowledgeable co-conspirators — has deployed automated bots and streaming farms to artificially inflate play counts of his music across major platforms, such as Spotify,” the complaint reads. “This manipulation has suppressed authentic artists and narrowed consumers’ access to legitimate content by undermining the integrity of curated experiences.”

Caught in a RICO

Alongside Drake and Ross, Nguyen, owner of the Instagram news and pop culture account @grandwizardchatn***a, played a role in the alleged botting scheme.

הצגת פוסט זה באינסטגרם

‏‎פוסט משותף על ידי ‏‎Billboard Hip-Hop/R&B‎‏ (@‏‎billboardhiphop‎‏)‎‏

The lawsuit claimed he facilitated and brokered deals, for which he was paid in cryptocurrency through Stake. He would interact with bot vendors and oversee botting and clipping campaigns on various social media platforms.

“Direct handling of funds through multiple payment platforms, orchestration of narrative surges, and amplification” was discovered through public posts, chat logs, and communication history, the lawsuit claims. “Plaintiffs have been damaged by the false marketing manipulation and abuses of defendants Drake, Ross, and Nguyen, who participate in the marketing of Stake.”

The lawsuit was submitted to defend Virginia residents who lost money using Stake Cash at some time within the last three years. 

By using a dual-currency model and circumventing state regulation, common practice for sweepstakes casinos, the lawsuit claims the defendants violated the Virginia Consumer Protection Act and were part of a racketeering ring, violating the federal RICO Statute. 

Lawyers representing the plaintiffs are seeking damages and a jury trial.