Former Goldman banker Roger Ng has sued ex-boss Tim Leissner over alleged fraud involving the theft of stakes in an energy drink maker and an AI firm.
Roger Ng has sued Tim Leisnner for more than $130 million, according to a «Reuters» report citing a complaint filed in a New York state court, over alleged fraud involving the theft of investments in energy drink maker Celsius Holdings and artificial intelligence firm Sentient Technologies.
According to the complaint, Ng said that Leissner stole $1.25 million in Celsius stake, now worth over $130 million, and $1 million intended to buy half of Leissner’s interest in Sentient.
Knowledge of this theft remained unknown until May 2021, Ng said, when Leissner and his model wife Kimora Lee Simmons were sued by Simmons’ ex-husband and record executive Russell Simmons. It was at this point that Ng learned that Leissner had diverted the Celsius investment.
Legal Costs
The complaint also highlighted the predicament that Ng faced as he was deprived of funds to defend himself in the 1MDB case, which was allegedly stolen by Lessiner to cover his own defense costs in a related case.
«Ng is in the unimaginable position of having to defend himself against allegations made by the person who defrauded him and who stole the money that plaintiff Ng needs to defend against those same allegations,» the complaint said.
1MDB Ruling
In 2018, Leissner pleaded guilty to bribery and money laundering charges. In April this year, a federal jury in Brooklyn convicted Ng of conspiring to violate an anti-bribery law and commit money laundering.
Ng, who faces up to 30 years in prison, and Leissner are scheduled to receive their sentences in mid-February next year.
