In an opinion issued on March 31, 2021, United States District Court Judge George L. Russell, III denied a motion to dismiss fraud and racketeering claims in a lawsuit filed by Tessemae’s LLC against Michael McDevitt, DC-based Tandem Growth, and others. Tessemae’s filed the lawsuit in June 2020 alleging that McDevitt violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) when he attempted to fraudulently acquire control of Tessemae’s.
In the opinion, the court wrote that Tessemae’s “plausibly and with sufficient particularity alleged that McDevitt engaged in multiple predicate acts of wire fraud” and “alleged with sufficient particularity that McDevitt and Tandem Growth became involved in the management of the company, manipulated its affairs, and caused it to become involved in transactions it otherwise would not have.”
The surviving claims include RICO, negligence-legal malpractice, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract.
Tessemae’s CEO Greg Vetter stated, “We are pleased with the court’s decision to deny the defendants’ Motion to Dismiss. We look forward to the opportunity to hold the defendants accountable at trial for the injuries Tessemae’s sustained due to their conduct.”
Tessemae’s is represented in the litigation by Brown, Goldstein & Levy. Please direct further inquiries to Andrew D. Levy, adl@browngold.com.