🏠 Ex-Boxabl Employee Escapes to Bulgaria with $1.6M

Ex-Convict Infiltrates Boxabl

Things were not going well for Yanni Tassev in 2011. He had just pleaded guilty to federal charges of drug-dealing and conspiracy to launder money.

According to a New York Post article, Tassev was painted as the mastermind behind a smuggling ring that transported 1,000 kilos of high-potency marijuana across the Canadian border.

For these crimes he was sentenced to 128 days in prison and 5 years of supervised release.

Upon release, Tassev began making moves. Most notably, he joined Boxabl - a high-flying startup that mass-produces foldable homes. They brought Tassev on in 2021 with the title of ‘Efficiency Specialist’.

Boxabl has rallied over 40,000 investors to their cap table and has been a fundraising giant in the crowdfunding space.

Tassev became involved in Boxabl’s investor relations work and actually held the title of ‘Vice President of Investor Relations’ during his tenure.

Through this position he talked to potential and existing investors - and this is where things got messy.

Yanni Tassev Solicits Shady Dealings

In his conversations with potential investors, Tassev approached several with an enticing offer.

He claimed that as an employee of Boxabl, he owned shares that he would be willing to sell at a discount to the share price at the time.

Tassev was eligible for employee stock options, however he would only have the right to acquire these shares after three years of employment.

At the time he was soliciting shares, he officially owned none. Furthermore, this is a huge conflict of interest.

Here he is, the VP of Investor Relations, tasked with managing the existing investor base & raising much-needed capital for the business. Instead, he’s undercutting his own company with ‘shares’ that he does not even own. 

Tassev even went so far as to falsify Boxabl investor records as part of the scheme, causing Boxabl to show several fictitious shareholdings in their bookkeeping.

SEC takes aim at Tassev

According to an SEC complaint filed last week, we now know that Tassev instructed several investors to wire at least $1.595 million dollars to ‘Sigmas Power’ an LLC that Tassev created around the time he joined Boxabl.

The complaint further alleges that Tassev spent the ill-gotten funds on gambling, family law lawyers, and payments to previous investors of Sigmas Power.

The motion filed by the SEC aims to:

• Bar Tassev from ever participating in the issuance, purchase, offer, or sale of any security

• Claw back all ill-gotten gains

• Pay additional civil penalties

Based on recent social posts, Tassev is currently enjoying life in Bulgaria - which could shield him from facing prosecution from the SEC. While the U.S. has an extradition treaty in place with Bulgaria, it adds another complicated layer towards seeking justice.

Tassev doesn’t come from humble beginnings - his father was Harvard-educated and once Bulgaria’s Deputy Finance Minister. His father’s connections to people in high places that could throw a wrench in any extradition request.

Even if Tassev is brought to the U.S. for justice, it will likely be difficult to claw back the $1.6M he siphoned off from investors since it’s likely the money was spent years ago.

The last question this story prompts me to ask is - Boxabl…….what the HECK were you guys thinking by hiring a felon convicted of money laundering and making him your head of investor relations???

Boxabl basically let a fox into the chicken coop and got upset when the fox ate all the chickens. 

I have some serious concerns over the lack of rigor that went into their hiring process - hopefully this is just a blip that gets etched into all of the surrounding Boxabl lore.

I predict that Boxabl will either end up as one of the most successful companies of our generation, or a colossal failure that failed to live up to its promise.

There’s no in-between for this company, but one thing is certain - they serve up entertainment.

After reading this article, I want to know…