Andersen, et al. v. Gigapix Studios, Inc. was filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento on January 13, 2022 seeking civil damages for claims of fraud and misrepresentation.
Plaintiffs are a group of individuals who invested in Defendant Gigapix Studios, Inc. (“Gigapix”). Gigapix is an animation company that solicited investors by advertising that it would generate large profits from prospective projects.
Plaintiffs allege that Gigapix was founded by Christopher Blauvelt and led by David Pritchard, who purchased investor lead lists and hired telemarketers to solicit potential investors. Investors were told that Gigapix was an animation company on the verge of an initial public offering or reverse merger with a public company that would net high returns for investors. In reality, however, Plaintiffs allege that Gigapix was a Ponzi scheme that materially misrepresented the funds that would be spent on producing shows and movies, the anticipated timing of returns on investment, the level of risk involved, and the success of prior Gigapix projects.
As investors signed subscription agreements and submitted their investment funds, Blauvelt and Pritchard purportedly used those funds to pay their own and employees’ salaries, personal expenses, commissions to their investor marketing team, and to solicit additional investors. Through this Ponzi scheme, Gigapix allegedly raised over $22 million from 750 investors. The scheme eventually caught the attention of the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, and Blauvelt and Pritchard were indicted and sentenced on separate criminal charges in United States of America v. David Pritchard, Christopher Blauvelt, et al.
Plaintiffs allege that they were involved in the criminal case and cooperated with the U.S. Attorney in order to recover their losses as part of the restitution process, but were ultimately denied restitution. Based on these allegations, Plaintiffs assert a single claim for fraud and misrepresentation against Gigapix for general and special damages.
