PANews reported on July 4 that according to Cointelegraph, investors in the crypto project The Phoenix accused the current head Daniel Ianello of an exit scam and filed a lawsuit in the Tennessee Federal Court. The plaintiff claimed that after Ianello took over Phoenix Community Capital in October 2022, he shut down the smart contract and transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars of investor funds, while deleting Discord posts and early website versions.

Ianello has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that as a Michigan resident he has no jurisdictional nexus with Tennessee, and denies any involvement in any securities sales. The project had promised to access investment opportunities not available in the retail market through a “large community asset pool” and distribute profits to token holders.