On Wednesday, September 2, 2026, US District Judge Kymberly Kathryn Evanson of the Western District of Washington issued an order that largely dismisses a defamation lawsuit filed by digital asset expert Jacob Claver and his two businesses against content creator Zach Rector and his company, Entrepreneur Exposed, LLC, as well as cryptocurrency brokerage Caleb & Brown Pty. Ltd.
The court found that Claver failed to identify actionable false statements in Rector’s videos and that a timely clarification from Caleb & Brown precluded recoverable damages related to its email.
The lawsuit stemmed from three videos posted by Rector in late 2025, which Claver alleged contained defamatory statements about him and his companies, Digital Ascension Group (DAG) and Digital Wealth Partners (DWP). Claver, who boasts over 500,000 social media followers and specializes in digital assets, blockchain, and Web3 technologies, also runs DAG, which assists high-net-worth individuals with cryptocurrency investments, and DWP, an SEC-registered investment advisor.
Rector, an analyst and content creator in the digital asset space, allegedly has an affiliate relationship with Caleb & Brown, an Australian-based competitor to DAG and DWP.
The dispute intensified after Rector learned of a lawsuit filed against Claver in late 2023 by payments processing company Verivend Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York. Verivend accused Claver of fabricating emails and wire confirmations to falsely show he had initiated a wire transfer using their platform, in an attempt to conceal his failure to raise funds for an affiliated company. Claver admitted to many of these actions in his court filings, including registering a domain similar to Verivend’s, sending falsified emails, and blaming Verivend for transfer issues. The Verivend case was settled in early 2025.
Rector’s videos in December 2025 referenced the Verivend lawsuit, with Claver alleging five specific statements were defamatory. These included claims that Claver “lied…about some things that happened in the past” and “lied to me about their business history about a lawsuit that involved their private equity dealings,” which Claver interpreted as Rector suggesting he concealed information about the Verivend suit. Other alleged defamatory statements claimed Claver “covered up…his frauds,” lied to the public about DWP’s fund performance, and had not accurately disclosed performance to investors due to not undertaking a third-party audit.
The court, applying the legal standard for motions to dismiss, found that Claver’s defamation claims against Rector failed. Regarding the statements about lying to Rector and covering up frauds, the court determined that even if false, they did not materially alter the “sting” of Rector’s reporting, which largely focused on Claver’s admitted misconduct in the Verivend lawsuit.
The court also classified statements about Claver’s public claims and DWP’s fund performance as non-actionable opinion, noting that Rector provided the factual basis for his skepticism, including Claver’s past deceitful acts and alleged efforts to prevent disclosure of fund information. The claim regarding the lack of a third-party audit was also dismissed, as the court found Rector’s statement merely expressed his personal view on the need for audited financials and did not assert a factual claim about Claver’s auditing process.
The court also dismissed Claver’s defamation claim against Caleb & Brown. While the brokerage sent an email to a client that included a hyperlink to Rector’s video and stated the client was “vulnerable to being scammed,” Caleb & Brown issued a timely clarification letter to the client. Under Washington’s Uniform Correction or Clarification of Defamation Act, this clarification foreclosed damages for injury to reputation or presumed damages. The court found the letter met the act’s requirements by correcting or disclaiming the intent to communicate a defamatory meaning, and that Claver failed to allege any other recoverable damages stemming from the email.
Consequently, Claver’s claims for tortious interference, conspiracy, and breach of contract were also dismissed, as they were found to be dependent on the underlying defamation claims or lacked sufficient factual support.
The court granted Rector and Entrepreneur Exposed, LLC’s motion for expedited relief, awarding them attorney’s fees and costs, as their speech was deemed to be on a matter of public concern and not primarily commercial.
However, Caleb & Brown was not awarded fees, as its communication was classified as commercial speech, falling under a statutory exception to the protection afforded by Washington’s Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (UPEPA).
All dismissals were made without prejudice, with leave granted for Claver to amend his complaint by September 23, 2026.
Please contact BlockTribune for access to a copy of this filing.
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