Jay-Z’s marijuana brand, TPCO are targeted in lawsuit

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A lawsuit accuses Jay-Z’s Monogram marijuana brand of illegally shipping products over state lines and its parent company, TPCO Holding Corp., of gender discrimination and filing erroneous financial reports.

According to SFGate, the lawsuit was filed Feb. 16 by a former TPCO vice president, Cathi Clay.

A spokesperson for California-based TPCO, which operates as The Parent Co., told SFGate that the allegations in the lawsuit are “false.”

Jay-Z’s Monogram cannabis brand is under the TPCO umbrella, and the rapper, whose given name is Shawn Carter, serves as chief visionary officer.

According to SFGate, the lawsuit alleges that:

  • TPCO executives were “aggressive, demeaning, and publicly questioned Ms. Clay’s abilities” and Chief Financial Officer Mike Batesole “made many inappropriate comments about women, hiring ‘housewives’ to perform accounts payable, people of color and skill sets of employees.”
  • Clay was reprimanded after warning executives that filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2021 and 2022 were inaccurate.
  • Monogram-branded cannabis products were illegally sent “to New York for a Monogram event with Shawn Carter.”
  • After filing a whistleblower report last August, Clay resigned.

In January,  TPCO restructured its business agreement with Monogram.

Then, last month, TPCO announced it was merging with Gold Flora and will operate as Gold Flora Corp.

Under terms of the merger, TPCO’s Troy Datcher will serve as the new company’s board chair and Gold Flora’s Laurie Holcomb as CEO.

Shares of TPCO trade on Canada’s NEO Exchange as GRAM and on the over-the-counter markets as GRAMF.