Six-time Stanley Cup champion and 15-time All-Star Mark Messier is suing an Alberta-based cannabis company claiming he lost a half a million investment when he was guaranteed he wouldn't lose.

The lawsuit, outlined on Twitter by TSN's Rick Westhead, claims Messier invested $500,000 in Destiny Bioscience and that the company used his celebrity status to gain another $30 million in funding. Messier's claim, according to Westhead, states "he is one of the greatest hockey players in history, former New York Rangers captain, six-time Stanley Cup winner, and among 'the most famous celebrities in New York'."

"His investment and endorsement would therefore give Destiny and [CEO Ed] Moroz instant credibility"

The suit alleges a personal and confidential advisory agreement signed May 31st, 2019, stated Messier was willing to be a 'good will' ambassador for Destiny, helping build business relationships with potential partners. While Destiny's other investors may have taken their chances, Messier says he was given a personal guarantee he wouldn't lose money after his holding company, Mar-Lyon USA Inc., bought 400,000 shares of Destiny for $1.25 apiece.

"Destiny was not a sure thing. Quite the opposite," said Messier in the papers filed in court. "It was a worthless company propped up by nothing more than Moroz's grandiose promises.»

Destiny was placed in receivership in May 2020 with $42 million in debt. Its assets, including organics and cannabis cultivation buildings in Nisku and Leduc, AB, are now up for sale.

Messier alleges Moroz agreed to give him a personal guarantee to pay Messier the difference between $750K and the value of 200,000 Destiny shares on Dec. 31, 2019

"Meaning if the value of Destiny shares fell to $0, Messier would presumably have been paid $750,00," said Westhead.

None of these allegations have been proven in court and Destiny Bioscience and Moroz have yet to file a response.

PREVIOUSLY ON
MARKERZONE