Ex-PlayUp CEO Laila Mintas Countersues, Accuses Company of Fraud, Perjury

Ex-PlayUp CEO Laila Mintas Countersues, Accuses Company of Fraud, Perjury

In Friday’s filing, Mintas said that Simic made a sworn statement that the deal falling through was her fault, even though he did not provide any evidence. Last month, Mintas submitted an email FTX sent to PlayUp officials indicating that the side deal Simic proposed caused negotiations to sour. She also provided an email from Simic that detailed the counter proposal.

Mintas said Simic had those emails in his possession when he made his statement.

PlayUp Inc. failed to provide these key documents, Simic’s email and the FTX email, to the Court and instead submitted false affidavits blaming and disparaging Dr. Mintas,” the countersuit stated.

According to Mintas’ filing, US District Judge Gloria Navarro said Mintas provided “substantial evidence” that she did not cause the deal to fail, and that PlayUp failed to show Mintas tarnished the company.

Mintas said previously that she wanted to replace Simic as the company’s global CEO in an attempt to save the FTX deal. She also claimed that some of the actions of PlayUp corporate leaders would be “a very interesting story” for US and Australian regulators to investigate.

Despite Navarro’s decision, Mintas said PlayUp notified her that an Australian court has issued an order against her. That ruling forces her to adhere to her old contract’s provisions against revealing confidential information or disparaging the company. Mintas, though, said that order should not be enforceable because she’s not an Australian resident. She addedthat her contract called for any litigation to take place in Nevada.

Further, Mintas said that Simic and Raymond Gonzalez, another PlayUp representative, traveled to the US from Australia in late 2021 to conduct business for the company. That included removing Mintas as the company’s signatory on US bank records. However, the countersuit claims the two individuals conducted business in the States while on travel visas.

According to State Department guidelines, any foreign visitor traveling to the US for business purposes needs a B-1 business visa unless they qualify for a visa waiver.

Mintas said her reputation has been “irreparably damaged” because of  the false statements the company has made against her. They also said the lawsuit has prevented her family, which recently sold its Las Vegas-area home, to move to the Bahamas as they had planned.

In her suit, Mintas seeks general damages, punitive damages of more than $75,000, and recovery of all legal fees.

A message left to PlayUp Friday night was not immediately returned.