3RD UPDATE 4:21 P.M. EDT U.S.A. Two new lawsuits were filed yesterday in Utah federal court against Traffic Monsoon and Charles Scoville. The separate complaints allege breach of contract, with Rizwan Naseer Puri and Pokhunduth Vickash Thoree listed as the plaintiffs.
The development appears to mark the first instances of private individuals suing Scoville and his company in a U.S. court.
A listing for a U.K. solicitor named Pokhunduth Vickash Thoree exists at the Law Society, and the London address on the complaint against Traffic Monsoon and Scoville is the same as the address of the lawyer.
Thoree contends in the complaint that he paid the defendants $138,350 for 2,777 “Ad Packs” between May 10 and July 25, 2016, expecting to be paid $1 a day per ad pack. The SEC sued Traffic Monsoon and Scoville on July 26, alleging securities fraud and a Ponzi scheme.
In addition to seeking the return of his $138,350 outlay, Thoree wants $149,958 for lost ad-pack earnings and an additional $120,000 for “emotional distress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, Guilt and frustration caused to him by the Defendants,” according to the complaint.
Meanwhile, the complaint seeks prejudgment interest of 8 percent a day on $408,808 allegedly owed to Thoree by Traffic Monsoon and Scoville. Contrary to Scoville’s view that Traffic Monsoon was not offering an investment, Thoree identifies himself as an individual who “invested into their business.”
He further contends that Traffic Monsoon was openly promoted as an investment opportunity.
Scoville may be facing court action on a third front. At least two class-action firms in the United States are investigating Traffic Monsoon. No complaints have been docketed to date.