Frankel-Goureau v NBC Amended Complaint PDF

FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK -----------------------------------------------------------x : NICOLAS GOUREAU, STEPHANIE : MENKIN, GOOBERRY CORPORATION,...

FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK -----------------------------------------------------------x : NICOLAS GOUREAU, STEPHANIE : MENKIN, GOOBERRY CORPORATION, : and derivatively on behalf of ML FASHION, : LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, : : Plaintiffs, : v. : NBCUNIVERSAL MEDIA LLC, a Delaware limited liability company dba : NBCUNIVERSAL; MACHETE : CORPORATION, a California corporation dba : Machete Productions; MARCUS LEMONIS, : an individual; ML RETAIL, LLC, a Delaware : limited liability company; MARCUS : LEMONIS, LLC, a Delaware limited liability : company; ROBERTA RAFFEL aka BOBBI LEMONIS, an individual, MLG Retail, LLC a : Delaware limited liability company. : : Defendants, : -and: : ML FASHION, LLC, a Delaware limited : liability company, : Nominal Defendant. : ----------------------------------------------------------------x Index No.: 160490/2021 AMENDED COMPLAINT AMENDED COMPLAINT Nicolas Goureau (“Goureau”), Stephanie Menkin (“Menkin”) , and Gooberry Corp. (“Gooberry”), by and through their undersigned counsel, individually and on behalf of ML Fashion, LLC (“ML Fashion”), bring this action against Defendants Marcus Lemonis (“Lemonis”), ML Retail, LLC (“ML Retail”), Marcus Lemonis, LLC (“ML, LLC”) (collectively “Lemonis Entities”), Roberta Raffel aka Bobbi Lemonis (“Raffel”), and MLG Retail, LLC (“MLG 1 1 of 169 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 Retail”), Machete Corporation dba Machete Productions (“Machete”) and NBCUniversal Media, LLC (“NBCUniversal”), (collectively “Defendants”) and allege as follows: INTRODUCTION 1. Courage.B was a high-end women’s retail store, which opened in 2008. From the beginning, it was a family owned and run operation, with Noemi Goureau, and her children, Plaintiffs Goureau and Menkin in charge. Under the family’s leadership, Courage.B proved itself to be a highly desired and competitive brand, succeeding in the hyper competitive world of women’s luxury retail. 2. By 2014, the Courage.B brand had taken off. The company operated seven different stores across the country, including highly competitive high-end markets such as Greenwich, CT, Palm Beach, FL, Bethesda, MD, Aspen, CO, New York, NY, Southampton, NY, and Fairfax, VA. The company was bringing in approximately $5 million a year in sales revenue. 3. At this point, Courage.B was looking to take the next step as a company. As with nearly every highly successful business, this next step would require a large influx of capital, beyond what the company was capable of obtaining on their own. They would need an outside investor. 4. Courage.B began seeking outside investors. In fact, they had even engaged in serious discussions with several interested parties about possible investments into the company. However, it was around this time that Plaintiff Goureau also learned about a show called The Profit. After viewing false episodes and hearing the way CNBC, the most reputable business network in the United States, held up and glorified Lemonis’ business acumen and his ability to take successful businesses to the next level, Goureau decided to apply to be on the show. He had 2 2 of 169 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 no idea this decision would cost his family their business, their personal relationships, and their overall mental well-being. 5. The Profit was a show conceived by CNBC executive Jim Ackerman, who was recruited by NBCUniversal to improve the falling primetime ratings of CNBC. The show purported to put small, struggling businesses in touch with a business guru who could change their lives. However, the show did anything but. While the show, which was designed and overseen by Ackerman, did boost the primetime ratings of CNBC, it did so at the cost of destroying the participating businesses, most of whom were successful and simply in need of capital rather than “small and struggling,” with fraudulent lies, inducements, and a complex scan. 6. NBCUniversal created a mob-style scam that took companies, such as Courage.B, and provided written and oral promises to act in the best interests of the companies if they participated on the show. However, NBCUniversal never intended to fulfill these promises. Instead, as they intended to do all along, it used the show to disparage, denigrate, and falsely portray the businesses they promised to help. Ackerman’s playbook (which it is known as by many former NBC producers) included a plan to use the show’s producers and Lemonis, their lead conman masquerading as a business guru, to create chaos and confusion on the set, divide business owners and families against each other, and falsely portray Lemonis as the white knight, using his expertise and personality to personally grow the companies. Ackerman’s vision for the show was to use these businesses, all of which were too small to have a legal team within their ranks, as fodder for ratings. This NBCUniversal contrived scam destroyed the reputation of the business’ owners and their products to the point where, like Menkin and Goureau, they still receive traumatic ridicule and negative feedback from complete strangers, all of whom are within NBC’s worldwide audience basing these perceptions on the show’s falsely depicted mob-style shows. 3 3 of 169 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 7. INDEX NO. 160490/2021 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 Ackerman’s playbook did not stop with simply humiliating hardworking businesses and their owners on national television. Indeed, it included a deal with an expert conman: Marcus Lemonis. As part of the playbook, Lemonis would be allowed to use a mob-style debt bust out, product theft, insane giveaways, comingling of assets, and self-dealing during the period of absolute control of the company, a period which went on for months and months and years (this period was secured for NBCUniversal and Lemonis through draconian documents participants were rushed to sign). During this time, Lemonis would drown the companies in massive amounts of debt, steal from the, comingle assets and money, self-deal, and compromise the companies’ stability. Then, while the owners were traumatized and choking on the bad faith tactics of NBCUniversal and Lemonis, NBCUniversal’s post-production team would defame the company and their owners by using false editing tactics. The participating businesses were often left with virtually no options, typically deciding between bankruptcy, or submitting to Lemonis’ will. Often times Lemonis used this leverage he created to harvest the remains of these companies for his benefit. The destruction of participant businesses, the turning of their owners lives into a living hell, and Lemonis’ personal enrichment at their downfall, were blatantly concealed from the viewing audience by NBCUniversal. 8. Ackerman, an NBCUniversal executive, and Lemonis, his employee and agent, were a team throughout the process. They were both conmen in the fullest sense of the word. Ackerman wanted to use these victim companies to create a false storyline that would make them look horrid, mean, incompetent, and despicable, causing Lemonis to look like he was their savior. These portrayals, both of the businesses and Lemonis, could not have been further from the truth. NBCUniversal employed casting agents and producers, and taught them to lie through their teeth about what was really going to happen to these poor people and their companies. Ackerman further 4 4 of 169 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 used CNBC’s production and postproduction people to carry out the con, falsely editing every single show so that ratings went through the roof. They did so without a care in the world about how they were ruining otherwise successful businesses run by normal, everyday, hardworking Americans. They meant nothing to them, they were simply a resource to be input into a machine that devoured them for ratings and avarice. Even worse, they knew they were committing outright fraud. Ackerman even said as much to Goureau and Lemonis’ wedding, telling him “this is going to get out at some point, that it’s all a scam.” 9. In the case of Courage.B, the con worked to perfection. Nicolas Goureau and Stephanie Menkin chose to forego other investment opportunities for the chance to appear on The Profit. Based on NBCUniversal’s portrayal of Lemonis, they truly believed that he was everything CNBC said he was. It was not until it was too late that they learned the truth of who Lemonis was and what he and NBCUniversal intended for the companies they solicited to be on the show. 10. The demise of Courage.B followed the Ackerman playbook to perfection. Lemonis used the guise of a false investment offer, which Goureau and Menkin, like so many other companies on the show, believed to be real, to secure his “100% in control” period. During this period, Lemonis racked up nearly $2 million in debt on behalf of Courage.B, all payable to Lemonis or Lemonis controlled companies. When confronted about the absurd amount of debt Lemonis had accrued without even mentioning a single charge to Goureau or Menkin, the conversation escalated, and Lemonis gave Goureau and Menkin two options: pay him back in full, on the falsely inflated and unsubstantiated invoice, or he would take over the company. Indeed, the members of Courage.B were out of options: they were now under the control of Lemonis. 11. Given the inability of Goureau and Menkin to repay the extraordinary debt Lemonis had falsely accrued to himself, the parties proceeded, and Lemonis purchased his stake in 5 5 of 169 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 Gooberry, Courage.B’s operating company, through ML Retail, LLC. This memorialized deal once again gave Lemonis 100% control, which he continued to use for his own personal gain and massive self-dealing. This manifested in Lemonis unnecessarily renovating existing stores, buying inventory beyond what the company could afford, and buying inventory that in no way coincided with the customer base the business had established. All of these purchases and expenses were charged by Lemonis controlled entities, further indebting the company to him. 12. Once Lemonis had gained complete control of Gooberry, he, along with Ackerman, began to use the company as NBCUniversal’s private stable for businesses appearing on The Profit. Time and time again, businesses who appeared on the show were placed under the Gooberry umbrella, their employees placed on Gooberry’s payroll, their renovations charged to Gooberry, and their inventory sent to Courage.B stores, regardless of whether or not the products fit their clientele. The defendants comingled, siphoned off and stole assets of Gooberry until there was no longer a company left that resembled the one entrusted to them. It had vanquished. Lemonis and NBCUniversal did not care how detrimental this was to Gooberry and the people who founded it: it was good for the show and good for NBCUniversal. The playbook was being executed to perfection. 13. After Gooberry was stretched to its limits, Lemonis represented that the only way for Menkin and Goureau to recoup their money and reclaim their destroyed company Gooberry, was to join him in investing in other businesses. To do so, Lemonis created ML Fashion as an umbrella entity. Although Goureau, Menkin, and Lemonis were technically each one third owners in ML Fashion, Lemonis again gave himself absolute authority over all of the company’s decisions and actions as the Manager of the company. However, despite Lemonis’ representations, ML Fashion had one purpose and one purpose only: to be another vehicle in which Lemonis and 6 6 of 169 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 Ackerman could funnel new, unsuspecting victim businesses appearing on The Profit. Lemonis gave Menkin and Goureau lawyers to represent them. In truth, these lawyers were reporting to him, working for him, and violated the rules of professional ethics by hiding their conflict. 14. The laws violated on this con job NBCUniversal deemed a show alone are countless. The Plaintiff’s come to this court now for fair, full, and proper compensation and justice, and the need for the judge assigned to this case to dispense justice fairly, without any concern for the power NBCUniversal wields, its connections, or those of Lemonis, and without any ties to NBC or a former law firm that worked for NBC. This court needs to be the first step in enforcing the laws and not the last step of the illegal wipe out and theft of what was a thriving business before the actions of NBCUniversal and Lemonis. Plaintiffs stand ready to prove their case once NBCUniversal and Lemonis produce their contracts with each other, their emails with each other, their full set of notes on the story line, and the full set of edits made in post-production. Once that takes place promptly, and some depositions are taken, Plaintiff will answer ready to try this case and carry their burden of proof. JURISDICTION AND VENUE 15. Jurisdiction is proper under New York Civil Practice Law and Rule § 301 because NBCUniversal has its principal place of business in New York. Jurisdiction is further proper under New York Civil Practice Law and Rule § 302, as defendants NBCUniversal, Machete, Marcus Lemonis, ML Retail, and ML, LLC transacted business in and committed tortious acts within the state. 16. Venue is proper under New York Civil Practice Law and Rule § 503 as a substantial part of the events giving rise to the claim occurred in New York. 7 7 of 169 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 PARTIES 17. Plaintiff Goureau is an individual, a resident of Florida and co-founder and a majority shareholder of Gooberry Corp. Goureau is an entrepreneur and clothing and retail executive. He is a signatory to the Stock Purchase Agreement and Shareholder Agreement (defined and described below) and owns 34% of the shares of the Company. Together with his sister, Plaintiffs Goureau and Menkin own 56% of the shares of Gooberry, a majority interest in the Company. 18. Plaintiff Menkin is an individual, a resident of New York County, and co-founder and a minority shareholder of Gooberry Corp. Menkin is an entrepreneur and clothing and retail executive. Menkin is a signatory to the Shareholder Agreement (defined and described below) and owns 22% of the shares of the Company. Together with her brother, Plaintiffs Menkin and Goureau own 56% of the shares of Gooberry, a majority interest in the Company. 19. Plaintiff Gooberry Corp. is a privately held New York corporation. Gooberry has its principal place of business in New York, New York and owned and operated a number of fashion brands and retail stores that have included Runway, Denim & Soul and Courage.B. 20. Nominal Defendant ML Fashion is a privately held Delaware limited liability company. ML fashion has its principal place of business in New York, New York and owns and operates a number of fashion brands and retail stores across the country. 21. Defendant Marcus Lemonis is an individual domiciled in Illinois and is the owner of ML, LLC and ML Retail, LLC. Lemonis is an investor and featured business fiduciary advisor of CNBC’s reality show, The Profit. Lemonis signed the Stock Purchase Agreement (defined and described below) on behalf of ML Retail, LLC. Upon information and belief, Lemonis also signed the Shareholder Agreement (defined and described below) on behalf of ML Retail, LLC. Lemonis 8 8 of 169 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 is the Manager and Chairman/CEO of ML Fashion and owns a 33.34% membership interest in ML Fashion through his entity ML Retail, LLC. Lemonis signed the Limited Liability Company on behalf of ML Retail, LLC He is also chairman and CEO of Camping World, Good Sam Enterprises, Gander Outdoors, and The House Boardshop. 22. Defendant ML Retail, LLC (“ML Retail”) is a Delaware limited liability company with its principal place of business in Illinois. ML Retail is a party to the Stock Purchase Agreement and Shareholder Agreement (defined and described below) and owns 32% of the shares of the Company. Lemonis is the sole member of ML Retail and has complete control over ML Retail. ML Retail is the alter ego or agent of Lemonis, and ML, LLC and operates as Lemonis’ personal holding company. 23. Defendant Marcus Lemonis, LLC (“ML, LLC”) is Delaware a limited liability company with its principal place of business in Illinois. The sole member of ML, LLC is Marcus Lemonis Enterprises, LLC, whose sole member is the Marcus Lemonis Revocable trust, whose trustee is Marcus Lemonis. ML, LLC is the alter ego or agent of Lemonis, and ML Retail operates as Lemonis’ personal holding company. 24. Defendant Roberta Raffel aka Bobbi Lemonis (“Raffel”) is an individual residing in Illinois. 25. Defendant MLG Retail, LLC (“MLG Retail”) is a Delaware limited liability company. MLG Retail has its principal place of business in New York, New York. MLG Retail’s sole member is ML Fashion. 26. Defendant Machete Corporation dba Machete Productions (“Machete”) is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of California with a principal place of business in the State of California. 9 9 of 169 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 27. INDEX NO. 160490/2021 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 Defendant NBCUniversal Media, LLC (“NBCUniversal”) is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in New York, New York. NBCUniversal is a mass media and entertainment conglomerate and owner of CNBC. Thus, all acts by, and liability incurred by, CNBC, constitutes acts of, and liability incurred by, NBCUniversal. NBCUniversal does business throughout New York and across the United States. 28. Plaintiffs are informed and believe, and based thereon allege that, at all times herein mentioned, Defendants Lemonis and Machete were the agents and/or employees of NBCUniversal, and at all times herein mentioned, were acting within the scope of such agency and/or employment and represented they had apparent authority to act on NBCUniversal’s behalf, and that NBCUniversal allowed and/or ratified such action to take place. ML Retail and ML, LLC Were Lemonis’ Alter Egos, and Thus Lemonis Can Not Hide Behind Their Corporate Structure 29. At all times relevant to this action, Defendant Lemonis has had exclusive and complete dominion and control over ML Retail and ML, LLC, such that these entities were his alter egos and the acts of ML Retail and ML, LLC as set forth in this Complaint are also the acts of Defendant Lemonis. 30. There is such a unity of interest and ownership between Defendant Lemonis on one hand and ML Retail and ML, LLC on the other hand, that the individuality of ML Retail and ML, LLC or their separateness from Defendant Lemonis have ceased because, upon information and belief: a. b. c. d. ML Retail and ML, LLC are completely influenced and governed by Defendant Lemonis, the sole natural person involved in each entity; Defendant Lemonis completely controls ML Retail and ML, LLC; Defendants Lemonis, ML Retail, and ML, LLC share the same address as their principal place of business; ML Retail and ML, LLC were at all times material to this matter, instrumentalities used for the benefit of Defendant Lemonis; 10 10 of 169 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 e. f. g. h. i. j. k. 31. INDEX NO. 160490/2021 ML Retail and ML, LLC are, and at all times herein mentioned were, kept under-capitalized by Defendant Lemonis, in relation to the reasonable needs of their businesses; The corporate forms of ML Retail and ML, LLC are a mere façade for the operation of Defendant Lemonis; The corporate form, entity, and structure of ML Retail and ML, LLC were at all times disregarded by Defendant Lemonis; The assets of ML Retail and ML, LLC were or are intermingled with the assets of Defendant Lemonis, or transferred without consideration, to Defendant Lemonis in disregard of the purported separate corporate form, entity and structure of ML Retail and ML, LLC, so as to make it impossible to separate from individual liabilities; The business and corporate affairs of ML Retail and ML, LLC are intermingled with those of Defendant Lemonis; ML Retail and ML, LLC have failed to abide by corporate formalities; and Defendant Lemonis uses his control over ML Retail, ML, LLC, and their assets to further his own personal interest. Upon information and belief, Defendants ML Retail and ML, LLC were never intended to have, and have never had, any true existence as a corporation. Indeed, ML Retail, and ML, LLC are and were organized and designed to act as devices by which Defendant Lemonis could evade his obligation, responsibility, and liability to third parties, including Plaintiffs, by engaging in unlawful activity without personal liability. 32. Continued adherence to the fiction of the separate existence of ML Retail and ML, LLC would sanction fraud and promote injustice, in that Defendant Lemonis is attempting to escape liability for his unlawful activity, as set forth below, by hiding behind ML Retail and ML, LLC and manipulating assets and liabilities to avoid responsibility for the unlawful acts that he directed and caused for his own benefit. Coconspirators and Agents 33. NBCUniversal, Machete and Lemonis, through their contractual relationships and actions on The Profit, are coconspirators in a massive scheme to defraud business owners seeking to advance their business to the next level and viewers around the world. NBCUniversal serves as 11 11 of 169 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 the parent entity for its cable broadcast network CNBC. CNBC hired Machete to produce The Profit. Machete – through their relationship with CNBC and NBCUniversal – is an actual or ostensible agent of NBCUniversal. Together, NBCUniversal and Machete conspired to create a show wherein they direct their employee, Marcus Lemonis, to run roughshod over unsuspecting business owners. NBCUniversal and Machete specifically placed Lemonis in a position of trust and power through illegal and one-sided contracts that require the participating business to comply with Lemonis’ demands. Then, NBCUniversal and Machete cut up, edit, and manipulate the production of the television show to make Lemonis look like a business guru – when he is actually a misleading conman in khakis – and air the event in prime time. 34. To pull off the coconspirators’ end goal (the total destruction of successful and growing businesses for self-gain), NBCUniversal, Machete, and Lemonis uses a network of entities Lemonis owns and exercises complete control over: in this case, ML Retail, ML, LLC, and MLG, LLC. This was a key component of NBCUniversal’s fraud playbook. It allowed NBCUniversal and Machete to direct Lemonis to destroy companies, such as Gooberry, on television and broadcast and stream it to the world. Each entity is working for the benefit of the other. NBCUniversal and Machete conspire with Lemonis and Lemonis, ML Retail, ML, LLC, and MLG, LLC conspired with NBCUniversal and Machete. The conspiracy requires the complicity of each Defendant to play their roll to ultimately serve each other. STATEMENT OF RELEVANT FACTS 35. This action arises out of Defendants NBCUniversal Media, LLC’s (“NBCUniversal”), Marcus Lemonis (“Lemonis”), Machete Production (“Machete”), ML Retail, LLC (“ML Retail”), and MLG Retail, LLC’s (“MLG Retail”) fraudulent conduct in connection with Nicolas Goureau (“Goureau”), Stephanie Menkin (“Menkin”), Gooberry Corp (“Gooberry”), 12 12 of 169 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 and ML Fashion, LLC, (“ML Fashion”) including their solicitation to appear on, appearance during filming of, and being defrauded and defamed on The Profit. 36. As explained in great detail below, NBCUniversal created the concept of the show The Profit, through their cable broadcast network CNBC. NBCUniversal hired Jim Ackerman – who served as Executive Vice President of Primetime Alternative Programing for CNBC – to turn around CNBC’s dismal primetime ratings. As CNBC’s profile of Ackerman states, “he is responsible for CNBC’s strategy, development and production of new reality formats.” 1 37. Ackerman (and thus NBCUniversal) created The Profit, a show designed to take smaller, less sophisticated businesses and disparage, exploit, and harvest them for ratings. Ackerman and NBCUniversal knew that a show depicting a reasonable businessman helping relatively successful business owners grow their businesses was not going to move the ratings needle. Instead, Ackerman created a situation where NBCUniversal and their producers made hardworking proprietors look like fools, sowed dissension, and disharmony among employees, and portrayed a White Knight (Lemonis) as saving the business. Almost nothing on air in The Profit was the truth. NBCUniversal employees and agents deceived, bullied, and defamed nearly every participant on the show. NBCUniversal did not care: the network had its ratings monster. 38. NBCUniversal and their production company, Machete, lured unsuspecting businesses into the arms of a modern-day conman, Marcus Lemonis. Under the guise of being a successful business consultant, and with the backing of NBCUniversal and their cable network CNBC, Lemonis gutted rows of successful businesses for his own gain through self-dealing, theft of intellectual property, and conversion of assets through forcing liquidation of assets and bankruptcy. This all put hundreds of millions of dollars in the bank accounts of NBCUniversal 1 https://www.cnbc.com/2017/11/14/jim-ackerman.html 13 13 of 169 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 and Machete through advertising revenue, television ratings, and self-promotion. 39. NBCUniversal has touted their relationship with Marcus Lemonis, presented him as “CNBC’s Marcus Lemonis,” paraded him around on Comcast media tours, and accepted every benefit conveyed to the network based on the success of the fake and fraudulent television show The Profit. He is their employee and they stood to gain from the relationship. NBCUniversal not only reaped the benefits from their promotion, association, and partnership with Lemonis, the network actually expanded the relationship into two additional series, The Partner and Street of Dreams. 40. NBCUniversal recruited, encouraged, manipulated, and induced entrepreneurs into working with their allegedly ingenious business guru, Lemonis. What happened next ended in humiliation and ruin for these companies. While NBCUniversal aired this entire scam – inaccurately portraying Lemonis as a White Knight and defaming the victim business and its owners – the company banked massive profits through advertising and distribution. 41. NBCUniversal was on notice regarding Lemonis’ tactics and the blatantly false and abusive way business owners were portrayed as early as 2014. When former participants began to complain to NBCUniversal that Lemonis and NBCUniversal’s fraudulent actions towards the business and the portrayals of the participants and their business on television were ruing the companies and reputations of the participants, NBCUniversal executives did not care. The Profit continues to air new false episodes to this day through streaming deals all over the world. 42. Publicly available information makes it clear that Lemonis is not and was not the business savoir that NBCUniversal portrayed. Defendant NBCUniversal broadcast the well-spun lie. Lemonis is the Chairman and CEO of Defendant Camping World, a publicly traded company. The company is embroiled in legal issues, allegations of fraud, and engages in businesses which 14 14 of 169 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 Lemonis holds a majority interest. Publicly available information shows that Lemonis is accused of abhorrent actions such as of selling elderly patrons used RVs while attempting to pass the vehicles off as brand new, insider trading, and accounting fraud. Camping World’s financials are so dicey that Camping World’s own accountants refused to sign off on financial statements because they could not ensure accuracy. All of this information was available to NBCUniversal had they done any due diligence. 43. In 2018, Inc. Magazine ran an article detailing “the dark side” of The Profit. The article profiled Lemonis’ tactics. 2 The article quotes a former NBC executive calling Lemonis a “Vulture Capitalist” and relaying that “[Lemonis] looks for companies that are desperate, flies in, and picks at the bones. At some point, you realize this guy on TV who says he’s helping companies isn’t the real deal.” In response, Ackerman defended Lemonis stating “he operates with transparency, he’s an honest guy” and “the checks are legit . . . the deals that are made on the show are legit.” Every word from Ackerman is a lie. Indeed, Ackerman even admitted so, speaking with Goureau at Lemonis’ wedding, stating “this is going to get out, that it’s all a scam” when referencing The Profit and Lemonis’ business tactics. Despite knowing so, NBCUniversal went right on to fraudulently produce, advertise, and distribute additional seasons of The Profit, which continues to air today. 44. As another former production executive put it in a recent nationwide Forbes article, “The mob has this thing called a bust out – if you owe them money, they take over your business and they put a lot of debt on it . . . your business is decimated, your credit is decimated.” 3 Looking See Exhibit A: Will Yakowicz “Exclusive: 20 Business Owners Claim There’s a Dark Side to Marcus Lemonis’ Reality TV Show ‘The Profit.’” 2 Exhibit B: Will Yakowicz “False Prophet Lawsuit Claims ‘The Profit’s’ Marcus Lemonis Preyed On and Destroyed 50 Small Businesses.” 3 15 15 of 169 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 back at Lemonis’ history on The Profit the same executive said, “It’s a version of a bust out, is what he’s done.” Indeed, The Profit’s Playbook invokes mob-style tactics to accomplish NBC’s’ goals. NBCUniversal executed a crucial true fraud playbook and engineered the defamatory and mob-style shows. 45. NBCUniversal, Machete, and Lemonis worked together to destroy successful businesses and profit from their downfall, greatly defaming the proprietors along the way. NBCUniversal, Machete, and Lemonis worked together to defraud and pillage participating businesses, while NBCUniversal approved of and directed the plot. 46. What happened to Nicolas Goureau, Stephanie Menkin, and Gooberry was no accident. Everything went exactly according to NBCUniversal’s fraud playbook. Gooberry was a Successful Family Business Ready to Take the Next Step 47. Gooberry, which was the operating company for a luxury women’s fashion line and retail stores under the name Courage.B, was owned and operated by Nicolas Goureau and Stephanie Menkin, alongside their mother Noemi Goureau (“Noemi”). The brand, started in 2008, and focused on high-end garments and accessories, inspired by the family’s French roots. 48. Goureau owned 100% of the stock in Gooberry and operated as the company’s CEO. Menkin operated as the company’s president, while Noemi held the title of Chief Designer for the brand Courage.B. 49. While Courage.B did not open until 2008, its story stretches all the way back to 1987, when Noemi and her husband Patrick opened Fopp’s, a retail store in New York City. Sadly, Patrick lost his battle with cancer, and passed away just one year after opening the store. Noemi was left to run the family business alone, while also raising her two young children, Goureau and Menkin. 16 16 of 169 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 50. INDEX NO. 160490/2021 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 Over time, Goureau and Menkin became more involved in Fopp’s, allowing Noemi to focus on her true passion – designing the upscale clothing their retail stores would sale. Goureau took this experience and continued the family business, eventually opening Courage.B. 51. The first Courage.B store opened in Greenwich, Connecticut on November 4, 2008. The store received immediate attention, being featured on several local news publications when it opened. 52. The business was an immediate success. Within the first twenty months of opening, the store did $6.5 million in sales. Over the next six years, the family poured their blood, sweat, and tears into the brand, allowing it to expand to seven locations across the country, including Greenwich, CT, New York, NY, Southampton, NY, Aspen, CO, Bethesda, MD, and Fairfax, VA. 53. Courage.B carried their exclusive Courage.B label clothing and items, which were designed by Noemi. The success and popularity of these items allowed Courage.B to build a loyal customer base who enjoyed Courage.B labeled products. For example, Courage.B had repeat customers who lived in Greenwich, visited family in New York City, wintered in Palm Beach, and summered in Aspen, making frequent stops at Courage.B in each location. 54. The success continued, and Courage.B had annual sales of roughly $5.5 million. As a result of this national success, Goureau and Menkin were ready to take their business to the next level. Goureau and Menkin developed a growth plan and began meeting with potential investors. In or around 2014, Goureau and Menkin began looking for an investor or consultant who understood family businesses, had experience in retail stores, and could take their business to the next level. Indeed, conversations with one potential investor had reached the point where the parties were discussing the proper valuation of the company. 55. Despite interest from other investors, Goureau believed there was one person who 17 17 of 169 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 would be the perfect partner for Gooberry. As a fan of The Profit, Goureau believed Lemonis to be a successful investor who had the ability to take businesses to the next level. Goureau and Menkin knew CNBC to be an extremely reputable business network, and after watching several false and misleading episodes on the network, combined with CNBC’s constant portrayal of Lemonis as a business guru and expert, they were convinced they had found their guy. 56. Goureau and Menkin would soon learn that NBCUniversal and their portrayals of Lemonis were anything truthful. Indeed, it was the intent of Defendants to prey on vulnerable, less sophisticated businesses and their owners to exploit and destroy the company for their own wealth. NBCUniversal did not care what Lemonis did with these success stories, which were the true essence of the American dream, once Defendants had ruined and slaughtered them. NBCUniversal was an evil corporate citizen, not a thought leader, and counted the hundreds of millions the show continued to make to the detriment of entrepreneurs such as Goureau and Menkin. NBCUniversal could have stopped this blatantly illegal scheme, and yet chose not to. Rather, NBCUniversal was the one who hired an executive who engineered and orchestrated the entire conspiracy. Thus, Goureau, Menkin, and Gooberry fell victim to The Profit Fraud Playbook. The Profit Fraud Playbook 57. The Profit operates more akin to a quincentennial mob shakedown than a business advisory show. Defendants NBCUniversal, Machete, and Lemonis consistently used a combination of strong-arm tactics to bully and intimidate business owners into accepting terms with them. In addition to the mob-style shakedown, NBCUniversal, Machete, and Lemonis would plot to destroy the business through false editing of the show at the most damaging level. 58. From the outset, NBCUniversal and Machete assisted Lemonis with the shakedown. Potential participants on The Profit were forced to disclose all potential assets 18 18 of 169 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 including information on bank accounts, inventory, and intellectual property. Participant owners and employees were interviewed by psychologists or counselors at the behest of NBCUniversal and Machete to gain valuable insight into the vulnerabilities, psychological issues, and health issues of the owners and employees. Producers from Machete acted to convince business owners to “trust the process” and encouraged participants to “open up” to Lemonis so they could “help.” They promised to act in good faith on behalf of these companies as they required that the owner turn the business over to them to run entirely (and ultimately ruin entirely, all for a nice ratings boost). 59. NBCUniversal, Machete, and Lemonis used the information from the financial forms, psychological interviews, and conversations with Lemonis to destroy and rape the participating company. NBCUniversal planned The Profit storylines that thrive on chaos, often manufactured by NBCUniversal and Machete to make a company look dysfunctional, portraying it, as it did with Goureau, Menkin, and Gooberry, in a defamatory manner. Employees were promised increased pay or ownership stakes to cooperate with the NBCUniversal created fictional storylines, which almost always made the participating business owner look incompetent or arrogant, and in fact always defamed, disparaged, and falsely portrayed the business, its products and services, its history, and the people running the business. Defendants blatantly breached the confidential nature of the private financial psychological information and medical history given to them in complete trust. 60. The Profit consistently falsely portrays business owners as dishonest, abusive, and/or inexperienced. Often, NBCUniversal, Machete, and Lemonis would pit partners against each other. And, where possible, NBCUniversal, Machete, and Lemonis did everything in their power to drive a wedge between spouses and siblings. Defendants – including the producers for 19 19 of 169 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 NBCUniversal and Machete – created chaos where none existed before. Defendants destroyed lives, families, and close friendships for nothing other than this concocted misery NBCUniversal distributes to the masses. The defendants care not for the lives they destroyed. 61. Defendants used the terms of the of the Participant Agreement and the Consultation Period to engage in conduct that would leave business owners with no choice but to cooperate, as Goureau and Menkin did, or so burden the business with debt that they could bankrupt the company and obtain all the assets through this injection of debt into the victim businesses. 62. This is really where all Defendants worked in concert together. NBCUniversal and producers from Machete used lies to get businesses to cooperate with Lemonis. They told participants “trust the process,” “Lemonis has your best interest at heart,” “he’s an honest guy,” and “you’ll be part of a feel-good story.” These statements were designed to gain the trust and participation of the business owners, not only to agree to do the show in the first place, but to also cooperate with Lemonis when participants started to notice red flags. Once NBCUniversal and Machete gained a participant’s cooperation for Lemonis, he used his own personal entities – in this case ML Retail – to forcibly take control of anything of value. 63. Lemonis burdened a participating business with debt before any actual deal was consummated to leverage a complete takeover. In a classic “debt trap” tactic, Defendants saddled the businesses with substantial debt, conveniently serviced by an entity owned and controlled by Lemonis, without input from the business owners. Then, only Lemonis could “rescue” the business from insolvency by taking control of the business. Of course, if Lemonis did not get his way he could force bankruptcy as the senior debt holder of the business. Lemonis, an employee of and directed by NBCUniversal, was repeatedly checking back in with Ackerman, ensuring his actions were in line with NBCUniversal’s fraud playbook. If not for the veneer of NBCUniversal and 20 20 of 169 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 Machete’s Participant Agreement, Lemonis’ fraudulent tactics would be better described as loan sharking. 64. Participating businesses have no recourse against The Profit Fraud Playbook because NBCUniversal, Machete, through their agents and employees control the narrative. They actively protect Lemonis and his affiliated businesses from being exposed and thus allow the scheme to repeat. Defendants use CNBC’s credibility to market and reinforce the false portrayal of the businesses and their owners. Meanwhile, business owners were improperly muzzled by illegal, oppressive, and improper Non-Disclosure Agreements, prevented from having their grievances heard in open forums through bullying tactics, and threatened with countersuits by entities with significantly more resources than the owners of the participating businesses. 65. Control of the narrative by NBCUniversal, Machete, and Lemonis is the essential element that allowed the mob-style playbook to be repeated time and time again. NBCUniversal is heavily involved in the production of the show, such as editing and finalizing episodes of the show, as well as creating a contractual paper trail that covered up the knowing misrepresentations made to lure the victims in and scare them from coming forward. In Lemonis’ own words, “CNBC runs the show.” 66. The playbook includes NBCUniversal’s reimbursements to Lemonis and his related entities for funds expended on the show, even though Lemonis used these expenditures to convince businesses that they were indebted to him and used that debt as a threat to extort the business. And yet, despite receiving complaints from past participants as early as 2014, as well as being on notice of various litigations spurred by the show and negative publicity accusing Defendants of massive fraud, cheating, and victim level corporate rape, NBCUniversal has continued the shakedown by extensively promoting “CNBC’s Lemonis,” covering up for him, and running interference for his 21 21 of 169 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 wrongful conduct, thus contributing its name and reputation to his faux legitimacy. NBCUniversal and Machete Lure Successful Businesses Looking for Capital to Appear on The Profit 67. NBCUniversal News Group, a division of NBCUniversal owns and operates CNBC, a television business news channel. NBCUniversal is owned by Comcast Corporation. At the end of the business day and on non-trading days, CNBC’s programming focuses primarily on financial and business-themed documentaries and reality shows. 68. Among the financial and business-themed documentaries it airs, CNBC airs The Profit featuring Marcus Lemonis as its business expert and trusted business advisor. 69. The show is produced by NBCUniversal’s/CNBC’s production company, Machete, distributed by NBCUniversal, and further distributed by NBCUniversal through worldwide streaming deals and NBCUniversal’s streaming platform, Peacock. A. 70. NBCUniversal Was Intimately Involved in Creating The Profit and Consistently Falsely Promoted Lemonis as a Successful, Trusted Business Advisor. From day one, NBCUniversal consistently used the reputation of CNBC as a boon to the legitimacy for Defendant Lemonis. NBCUniversal went out of its way to promote Lemonis as a business sage and guru when there was little evidence to support this representation. 71. Prior to Machete’s involvement, NBCUniversal worked with a different production company and used CNBC’s reputation and prestige as a business news network to convince businesses that Marcus Lemonis would be a trusted business advisor who could transform their businesses. From the first season, CNBC itself reached out to businesses, most of which were thriving but looking to expand, to appear on the show. These businesses received emails that stated: I’m a casting producer working on a new CNBC Television show looking 22 22 of 169 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 to feature interesting businesses. I’d love to speak with you about it. Below is some brief information on the show. Please call and I’d be happy to tell you more - my contact info is below. Casting SMALL to MID-SIZE COMPANIES to work with top BUSINESS EXPERT on New CNBC Reality Show. CNBC and Iconic Casting are searching for small to mid-size companies to appear on CNBC’s new reality show, THE BIG FIX (working title) with Marcus Lemonis. Would YOU and YOUR Company benefit from the expert advice and financial investment from one of America’s top CEO’s???? Producers are searching for ALL types of businesses (20+ employees) that would benefit from working with a top Business Advisor. On this new CNBC reality show, Marcus Lemonis, CEO of Camping World and one of America’s foremost business experts, will be doing something no one has ever done on TV before. He is going to invest at least $2,000,000 of his own money and lend his expert advice to help small to mid-size businesses become more successful. In one week, Marcus will help transform your business to run more efficiently, be more profitable and ultimately more successful. Marcus Lemonis has built a national empire of over 100 companies worth $2.2B and now he’s paying America back by helping one small business at a time. In fact, Marcus, as you can read in the below Chicago Tribune article, on Christmas eve this past year saved a bakery with a personal $250,000 dollar investment. To read the article click on the following link: Chicago Tribune Article. 4 72. Jim Ackerman, Executive Vice President of CNBC, was put in charge of this mob- style production. He was the mob-boss for NBCUniversal. Ackerman repeatedly approached Amber Mazzola, Executive Producer at Machete, with the opportunity to produce the show for CNBC. In the Rock Your Brand Podcast, which aired on June 10, 2020, 5 Amber Mazzola said, “[Jim Ackerman] went to oversee [C]NBC Prime and said you know I want to bring you over here. 4 See Exhibit C: Marketing Email. 5 See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Op2uXkeNTyM&ab_channel=BrandCreators. 23 23 of 169 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 I have this show I would love for you know to be the showrunner for it.” At the time, Mazzola explained that she was no longer a showrunner and that she owned her own production company, which was currently working on a different show. 6. When that show was canceled, Ackerman reached back out to Mazzola and asked whether she would “run the show for [him].” 7 When she declined again, he said, “Come work with me. Help me launch this network into a show as a producer, and I will help you build your own company again. I’ll help you like rebuild your company.” 8 73. Ackerman told her, “[NBCUniversal/CNBC] has this great piece of talent, and we have a production company that brought [Lemonis] you know us but we don’t really know the company that well they’re not really vetted. We’ve never worked with them. They’re sort of this new company.” 9 74. Mazzola further explained, “I started the very first season of The Profit. It was not my show as a company owner. I was the showrunner on it. I was an executive producer still helped with casting, the budget, and did everything. Actually, I even formatted the show you know with Marcus and the network, and it didn’t work out with the production company with the network, . . . so Jim [Ackerman] gave the show to me into my company. So, from Season 2 on, I was the company behind the show.” 10 75. While Machete and Lemonis were involved, NBCUniversal was the final word in the selection of the businesses that would appear on the show. When asked how the businesses 6 Id. 7 Id. 8 Id. 9 Id. 10 Id. 24 24 of 169 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 that appear on the show are selected, Mazzola explained that Machete looks through thousands of applications, and then they “present it to Marcus [Lemonis] and the network, and you know everyone sort of weighs in what they like.” 11 In other words, NBCUniversal helps Lemonis cherry pick the victim companies. 76. During the show, Lemonis and NBCUniversal were in constant contact regarding Lemonis’ actions and intentions during the show. Ackerman and Lemonis regularly met and discussed the day-to-day actions of Lemonis with respect to victims of The Profit. Not only did Ackerman – and thus NBCUniversal – fail to stop Lemonis’ mob-style tactics, he knew about the vulture-capitalist actions and approved of Lemonis’ conduct. 77. After filming concludes, Machete, Lemonis, and NBCUniversal edit the footage into episodes that defame participants, portray them in a false light, and often include outright falsehoods about the participants and their businesses. The impact of these defamatory portrayals was catastrophic for the businesses featured on the show. In other instances, NBCUniversal, Machete, and Lemonis edited the footage to make it appear as if Lemonis’ advice saved the business by making changes to the business plan and introducing the business to national buyers. Most – if not all – of those portrayals are false. B. 78. NBCUniversal Falsely Promoted Marcus Lemonis as a Successful, Trusted Business Advisor. The Profit has aired for roughly eight years and has featured around one hundred businesses. On each episode of the show, Lemonis visits a purportedly ailing business and offers his business acumen and a financial investment in exchange for an ownership interest in the entity. 79. 11 From the outset, NBCUniversal has falsely promoted Lemonis as a trusted advisor Id. 25 25 of 169 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 and savvy businessman. The introduction to the show finds Lemonis speaking to the public viewer, stating: My name is Marcus Lemonis, and I fix failing businesses. I make the tough decisions, and I back them up spending my own money. It’s not always pretty, but this is business. I do it to save jobs, and I do it to make money. This is The Profit. 80. During commercial breaks in the episodes, Lemonis invites businesses to apply for his help, stating, “If your business is in trouble and you need my help, log on to theprofitcasting.com.” However, these were not the types of businesses Defendants chose to depict on the show. Rather, Defendants chose solid and successful businesses who were simply in need of more capital and who were often small enough not to have legal support in the form of general counsel. These were the types of businesses Defendants sought out to victimize and defraud for their own purposes and personal gain. 81. In addition to using CNBC’s logo, the website where businesses are directed (https://www.theprofitcasting.com/) to apply to appear on The Profit states, “If you are in over your head and feel your business is drowning, CNBC can provide you with the lifeline to save your business. . . . Apply now for a chance to save your business.” 82. On that page, business owners can read a statement claiming that Lemonis “has been called America’s number one business turnaround artist. He will do whatever it takes to fix YOUR failing business. When Marcus Lemonis isn’t running his multi-billion-dollar company, Camping World, he is on the hunt for struggling businesses that are desperate for cash and ripe for a deal. In the past 10 years, he’s successfully turned around over 100 companies. Now he’s bringing those skills to CNBC and doing something no one has ever done on TV before… he’s putting his own money directly into the failing businesses.” Id. Almost all of this is false. 83. CNBC’s website for The Profit (https://www.cnbc.com/the-profit-about/) reiterates 26 26 of 169 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 this and promotes Lemonis’ tactics, stating that Lemonis “goes on the hunt for struggling businesses that are desperate for cash and ripe for a deal. In each one-hour episode of The Profit, Lemonis makes an offer that’s impossible to refuse; his cash for a piece of the business and a percentage of The Profits.” This is all too telling. While Lemonis indeed “hunt[s] for businesses that are desperate for cash and ripe for a deal,” the entire plot is designed so Lemonis can use the businesses’ needs for his own gain. 84. NBCUniversal led businesses to believe that Lemonis was a successful businessman with a proven track record of success for businesses that appeared on the show. CNBC’s own website (https://www.cnbc.com/the-profit-effect/) depicts only allegedly positive experiences and does not discuss unsuccessful deals. Worse yet, it even depicts businesses—that have since closed due to Lemonis’ involvement—as success stories. 85. Throughout its website (https://www.cnbc.com/marcus-lemonis-bio/), NBCUniversal endorses and continues to depict Lemonis as a successful businessman. Businesses that applied reasonably relied on these representations that this was a real opportunity with a business advisor/business expert to take their business to the next level. CNBC’s website states: There is no secret as to why self-made millionaire and serial entrepreneur Marcus Lemonis continues to make his mark on the business world. He leaves not just an impression, but an imprint on everyone he meets, and Lemonis has that charisma, if you will, that few possess. On CNBC’s “The Profit,” Lemonis lends his expertise to struggling businesses in various industries across the country while using his famous People/Process/Product principle. Through his “Three P mantra,” he analyzes every business by the quality of people, whether they have an excellent and relevant product, and the best possible process for creating, delivering, and selling that product. Since “The Profit” first premiered in July of 2013, Lemonis has invested nearly $50 million of his own money in the companies featured on the series. As a result of successful partnerships on CNBC’s “The Profit,” Lemonis has added a variety of new product lines and services to his holding 27 27 of 169 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 company, Marcus Lemonis Enterprises LLC. . .. Lemonis was recognized for having “more impact on the industry than any single individual or company in recent memory as an agent of change and retail consolidation,” when RV Business Magazine named him their 2007 Newsmaker of the Year. In addition, Crain’s Chicago Business featured him in their 2005 edition of “40 under 40”; and in 2008, Ernst & Young named him Entrepreneur of the Year.” . . . . Lemonis drives results through collaborations, partnerships and relationships. His advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is simple: know your numbers, trust the process, and remember that he’s 100 percent in charge! 86. NBCUniversal has continuously promoted Lemonis and The Profit, often referring to Lemonis as “CNBC’s Marcus Lemonis.” 87. CNBC’s website states: “‘The Profit’ is produced for CNBC by Machete Productions with Amber Mazzola serving as executive producer. Marcus Lemonis, Mike Riley, Deirdre Bianchi and James Bolosh are the executive producers for CNBC.” Lemonis likewise lists The Profit on CNBC under his experience in his LinkedIn profile. 88. This endorsement of Lemonis extends to social media as well. CNBC featured Lemonis live on Instagram with “CEO Gives Small Business Owners Coronavirus Advice in RealTime.” CNBC promoted the “opportunity” as follows: “CNBC featured CEO of Camping World, Marcus Lemonis, gives advice to small business owners as they navigate the professional world amidst the Coronavirus pandemic. Tune in to Lemon-aid with @MarcusLemonis Tuesday & Saturdays at 9P ET on Instagram Live.” 89. On Instagram, the show’s handle is “@theprofitcnbc” The biography states, CNBC’s The Profit @marcuslemonis is #TheProfit! Watch Full Episodes! @peacocktv 90. The account, believed to be run by NBCUniversal/CNBC, even reposts posts from Marcus Lemonis’ personal account. Other posts include images with the CNBC logo. Likewise, 28 28 of 169 FILED: NEW YORK COUNTY CLERK 12/22/2021 07:17 PM NYSCEF DOC. NO. 39 INDEX NO. 160490/2021 RECEIVED NYSCEF: 12/22/2021 on Twitter, the handle is @TheProfitCNBC. On these platforms, NBCUniversal continues to falsely depict Lemonis as a business expert who has successfully transformed over 100 companies. 91. Indeed, The Profit often features family-owned businesses where the family members are often overworked and fulfilling multiple roles in the company. These business owners do not have formal business training. Even more, these companies often do not have general counsel or independent advisors. C. 92. NBCUniversal and Machete used Fraud, Misrepresentations, and Deception to Convince Unwitting Business Owners to Appear on The Profit. NBCUniversal, Machete, and Lemonis used a variety of misrepresentations during the course of their scheme to get participants to go on The Profit, sign fraudulently induced and illegal release agreements, and allow Lemonis to control and destroy their businesses. These tactics were not readily apparent until dozens of victims of this malicious scheme came out of the woodwork in 2020. 93. They convince businesses to come on the s