A Queens man claims he was the central figure in a $500,000 extortion scheme backed by DraftKings.
In the Queens County lawsuit Acquired by NextThe anonymous plaintiff alleges that in March 2023, a masked man threatened him near his Long Island City home, “grabbing him, shaking him roughly and threatening to kill him unless he paid $500,000 to professional gambler Gadoon “Spanky” Killoros.”
According to the lawsuit, security camera footage showed the masked gunman waiting more than three hours before attacking John Doe.
He said that despite being told that DraftKings had enhanced account security, it “provided Kiroros with Plaintiff’s address, as well as Plaintiff’s sensitive personal information, financial history and gambling history,” which led to the street encounter.
“DraftKings loaded a gun and put it in Spanky’s hands,” the lawsuit reads. “Plaintiff’s life was never the same again.”
DraftKings is seeking dismissal of the lawsuit, which does not name Kirolos as a defendant.
“The complaint filed by anonymous plaintiff against DraftKings in March 2024 is riddled with inaccuracies and unsubstantiated allegations,” a spokesperson told The Post. “In the complaint, plaintiff does not identify any DraftKings employees, but rather alleges, upon ‘information and belief,’ that unidentified DraftKings employees provided personal account information to ‘Spanky’ and other anonymous third parties.”
“DraftKings has found no evidence that anyone at DraftKings provided Plaintiffs’ information to third parties, and DraftKings denies any such ‘security breach.’ DraftKings has also not found any improper activity by DraftKings employees or activity on Plaintiffs’ accounts in connection with the alleged unauthorized changes to the email addresses associated with Plaintiffs’ DraftKings accounts. DraftKings expects to dismiss the complaint by June 28.”
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The plaintiffs are seeking $1 million in damages from DraftKings, as well as punitive damages, interest and attorneys’ fees.
