U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida denies motions to dismiss filed by all defendants, permitting Genius Group's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO") claims to proceed.
The Company's lawsuit seeking treble damages of over $750 million against Michael Moe, Peter Ritz, John Clayton, and Michael Carter.
SINGAPORE, Sept. 30, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Genius Group Limited (NYSE American: GNS) ("Genius Group"- "GNS" or the "Company"), a leading AI-powered education group, is announcing today that on September 27, 2026, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida denied the motions to dismiss filed in the Company's lawsuit against defendants Michael Moe, Peter Ritz, John Clayton, and Michael Carter.
The Court's denial of the defendants' motions confirms that the Company has sufficiently alleged claims under the Federal and Florida State iterations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, pursuant to which the Company seeks nearly $1 billion in damages.
The Company's complaint alleges that the defendants used LZG International, Inc. ("LZGI") to perpetrate an unlawful scheme through interstate fraudulent wire and mail transactions and to the detriment of the Company (as well as other issuers). Among other things, the Company's complaint alleges that the defendants made false representations to deceive the Company into entering the asset purchase agreement with LZGI, which enabled the defendants to extort millions of dollars in cash and stock from the Company, and-after the Company evicted Peter Ritz and Michael Moe from their positions within Genius Group-defendants used LZGI to retaliate against the Company by seeking a preliminary injunction during early-2025.
The favorable ruling is the Company's latest victory in the protracted battle relating to LZGI and joins, most notably, the Company prevailing in the ICC Arbitration against LZGI, pursuant to which Genius was awarded the return of the 7.4 million shares of its common stock and approximately $8 million in monetary relief.
Roger James Hamilton, CEO of Genius Group, said "This is a very positive ruling in favor of the Company. I'd like to acknowledge Mark R. Basile, Esq. and his team at The Basile Law Firm P.C., whose expertise in RICO litigation and securities violations has been instrumental in protecting Genius Group and its shareholders. From winning the ICC arbitration, to vacating the injunction at the Second Circuit, to defeating all motions to dismiss, Mark and his team have delivered results that speak for themselves. We look forward to discovery and to holding the defendants fully accountable."
The Company remains committed to vigorously litigating its legal interests in the Southern District of Florida against the defendants with a view towards rectifying all the harm the Company has suffered at their hands.
About Genius Group
Genius Group (NYSE: GNS) is a global education group delivering AI powered, education and acceleration solutions for the future of work. Genius Group serves 6 million users in over 100 countries through its Genius City model and online digital marketplace of AI training, AI tools and AI talent. It provides personalized, entrepreneurial AI pathways combining human talent with AI skills and AI solutions at the individual, enterprise and government level. To learn more, please visit geniusgroup.ai
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements made in this press release include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may," "will", "plan," "should," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," or comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements are inherently subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties, many of which the Company cannot predict with accuracy and some of which the Company might not even anticipate and involve factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or suggested. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and are advised to consider the factors listed above together with the additional factors under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Reports on Form 20-F, as may be supplemented or amended by the Company's Reports of a Foreign Private Issuer on Form 6-K. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events, new information or otherwise. No information in this press release should be construed as any indication whatsoever of the Company's future revenues, results of operations, or stock price.
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