Influencer Dan Bilzerian says he was illegally ousted from company he founded

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (CN) — Instagram influencer Dan Bilzerian is once again taking the vape and alcohol company he founded to court, claiming he was wrongly ousted from Ignite and blocked from starting a new competing company.

Dan Bilzerian says the move was spearheaded by proxies of his father, Paul Bilzerian, through his company International Investments Ltd.

While Dan Bilzerian is not a majority shareholder in Ignite International Brands Ltd., he is the largest single shareholder, with a 46.5% voting stake in the company, according to his petition filed with Supreme Court of British Columbia on Nov. 10.

International Investments is the second-largest shareholder, with a 21% voting stake, according to Dan Bilzerian.

Ignite sells nicotine and alcohol products, including disposable vaporizers, snus pouches and hard liquor, but it also sold cannabis products in the past.

“Since 2018, the petitioner’s personal brand ‘Ignite,’ as well as the petitioner’s name, likeness, personality, and life story, have been the essence of the company’s business, and he has been the public face of the company,” Dan Bilzerian claims in the new petition.

“The Petitioner allowed the company to use his name, likeness, image, signature, and distinctive marks on a good faith basis — at no cost to the company — for the purpose of marketing the company’s products and driving the company’s sales and growth," he continues.

Dan Bilzerian is a professional poker player and social media influencer referred to by some as the “King of Instagram,” who has been accused of spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories alongside fellow masculinity influencer Andrew Tate.

A December 2023 shareholders agreement saw all directors except Dan Bilzerian resign, leaving him the sole director of the company — but he says that didn’t last long.

Less than six months later, International Investments wrote to Dan Bilzerian, ending his role as chairman, claiming to represent 51.8% of Ignite’s shareholders.

The letter was signed by Greg Gilpin-Payne, who is International Investments’ owner on paper, but whom Dan claims is a proxy acting on Paul Bilzerian’s behalf.

Dan says his father relies on proxies to avoid authorities in the U.S., where he was convicted of securities and tax fraud in 1989.

Dan Bilzerian claims the termination was illegal and disputes International Investments’ claim to represent 51.8% of Ignite’s shareholders, and says he refused to step down. Days later, he says Ignite circulated an announcement of its new directors, which referred to him as a “former director.”

Among the new directors were Gilpin-Payne and Scott Rohleder, Paul Bilzerian’s long-time accountant whom Dan Bilzerian also claims to be a proxy for his father.

In a series of court petitions in British Columbia, Dan Bilzerian sought to be reinstated as the company’s chairman — but that came back to bite him when he sought to start a competing vape company, Sex Addict.

Because Dan Bilzerian was trying to be reinstated, Ignite got a court injunction against Sex Addict, which said his fiduciary duty was owed to Ignite.

One of the claims he is asking to be reinstated is still at issue, with a trial set for January 2027, after a judge denied Dan Bilzerian’s attempt to vary or end the case, leading to the petition filed this week.

“As a result of these related proceedings, the petitioner has not had any court rule on the lawfulness of the events of June 2024,” Dan Bilzerian says in his new petition.

“Notwithstanding that those events were wrongful, the petitioner has been excluded from the company, prevented from voting his shares at two AGMs, prevented from selling his shares, and since March 2025 is prevented from earning a living in his chosen field of business because of the non-competition injunction," he continues.

In 2024, Dan Bilzerian brought related claims against his father’s company in federal court in Nevada. That case was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds.

Just a few months after Dan Bilzerian’s ouster from his former company, Paul Bilzerian, Rohleder and Ignite were each charged with wire fraud and conspiracy related to Paul’s 1989 conviction and later Securities and Exchange Commission fines, for which authorities say he still owes $180 million.

While Rohleder resigned as CEO, Paul Bilzerian has continued to evade authorities by operating out of tax havens, according to Dan Bilzerian.

Dan Bilzerian’s claims haven’t been proven in court. He and Ignite did not immediately respond to a request for comment.