Jake Claver Lawsuit: $30M Defamation Case Against Zach Rector

Crypto entrepreneur Jake Claver’s lawsuit against Zach Rector is a $30 million defamation action filed on January 9, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, accusing the XRP-focused influencer of running a smear campaign that branded Claver and his firms as fraudulent. Rector has moved to dismiss the case under Washington’s anti-SLAPP statute, and as of mid-2026 no ruling on that motion had been reported.¹²

Claver is the CEO of Dallas-based Digital Ascension Group and founder of Digital Wealth Partners, an SEC-registered investment adviser that reported managing roughly $1 billion in digital assets in late 2025.³ Rector is a YouTuber and X personality in the XRP community, with about 156,000 YouTube subscribers and 95,000 followers on X at the time of filing. He operates through Entrepreneur Exposed, LLC, and, according to the complaint, held an affiliate relationship with Caleb and Brown, an Australian crypto brokerage that competes with Claver’s firms.¹

What Rector Is Alleged to Have Said

The complaint centers on a livestream and follow-up videos Rector published in late December 2025. On December 30, in a stream lasting more than an hour and a half, Rector said Claver had “lied about some things that happened in the past” and that “lies are being told” about Digital Wealth Partners’ funds. The next day, he posted two additional videos alleging Claver had “covered up his frauds,” misstated fund returns, and skipped third-party audits, and that he had personally misled Rector about his business history.¹

Rector later removed the two December 31 videos, though other content stayed online. The complaint treats the takedown as a tacit acknowledgment that the material was defamatory. The complaint also traces earlier posts from an X account called “DWPInvestor,” which the plaintiffs believe Rector controlled, claiming in October and November 2025 that Digital Wealth Partners had not paid distributions from its XRP hedge fund.¹

Rector has publicly framed his statements as legitimate scrutiny. In a video titled “Addressing Jake Claver Lies Part 1,” he severed ties with Claver and accused him of “community manipulation” through exaggerated forecasts and false claims of insider access, alleging “a massive discrepancy” between Claver’s public statements about fund performance and what investors were telling him privately.⁴ Claver’s side responds that Digital Wealth Partners uses third-party sub-advisors, is undergoing a third-party audit, and has produced positive returns.¹

The Legal Claims

Claver, Digital Ascension Group, and Digital Wealth Partners brought three causes of action against Rector and Entrepreneur Exposed. The Docket Alarm listing also names Caleb and Brown Pty Ltd as a defendant, though the complaint itself references the brokerage as Rector’s affiliate and competitor rather than as a direct participant in the alleged defamation.⁵

Defamation and defamation per se, on the theory that Rector’s statements were false, malicious, and so damaging on their face that specific proof of financial loss is not required.
Tortious interference, alleging Rector intentionally disrupted existing client relationships and business prospects, motivated in part by his affiliate tie to a competitor.
Breach of contract, alleging Entrepreneur Exposed violated an affiliate agreement signed with Digital Ascension Group on March 14, 2025, which barred “false or misleading claims about the Company’s services.”¹

The plaintiffs seek $30 million in compensatory damages, punitive damages, and a court order requiring Rector to take down the remaining videos.¹

How the Feud Started

Two flashpoints sit behind the complaint. First, Claver had drawn attention, then criticism, for predicting XRP would reach $100 before the end of 2025. It didn’t. Rector called the forecast “misleading” and argued there was “no plausible scenario” for that kind of price move.⁴ Claver later distanced himself from the role of a professional adviser in a February 2026 interview, saying, “I’m just some crazy guy on the internet.”⁶

Second, Rector pointed to a prior trademark suit, Verivend Inc. v. Claver et al. (Case No. 1:23-cv-01289), filed in the Western District of New York in December 2023. That case settled with a stipulated permanent injunction signed by Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. on February 10, 2025.⁷ Rector cited the settled matter as evidence that Claver had been dishonest about his business history.⁸

Damages the Plaintiffs Claim

The complaint describes month-to-month revenue drops and several seven-figure prospective clients who backed out during onboarding after seeing the fraud allegations. Some existing ultra-high-net-worth clients reportedly withdrew funds. Claver was also removed as a speaker at an upcoming conference, and other crypto content creators amplified Rector’s accusations across Reddit and social media.¹

The Anti-SLAPP Motion and Case Status

Rector has invoked Washington’s Uniform Public Expression Protection Act, the anti-SLAPP statute the state enacted in 2021 after its earlier version was struck down as unconstitutional in 2015. The law lets defendants seek expedited dismissal of suits targeting speech on matters of public concern, and a successful motion can entitle the defendant to recover legal fees.⁹

Court records show that on May 1, 2026, the defendants filed a reply in support of a motion to dismiss under RCW 4.105.020, or in the alternative, a motion for judgment on the pleadings.² Filing an anti-SLAPP motion automatically stays proceedings and discovery while the court evaluates whether the plaintiff can establish a viable case. Under the statute, a hearing must be held within 60 days and the court must rule within 60 days after that.⁹ No ruling on the motion had been reported as of mid-2026.

1
ALM Media. Claver v. Rector Complaint, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
2
PACER Monitor. Claver et al. v. Rector et al., Docket Entry #30
3
Dallas Business Journal. Dallas Entrepreneur Billion Dollar Business
4
TradingView (NewsBTC). Jake Claver Doubles Down on $100 XRP Target After 2025 Miss
5
Docket Alarm. Claver et al. v. Rector et al.
6
Coinpedia. Jake Claver Responds to Failed $100 XRP Prediction
7
PACER Monitor. Verivend Inc. v. Claver et al.
8
SignalPlus. XRP: Zach Rector Distances Jake Claver, Transparency
9
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Anti-SLAPP Guide: Washington