Finance Firm Renews Fight Against Techies

LAS VEGAS (CN) - Panliant Financial renewed its legal fight against a Canadian tech firm it accuses of violating state and federal RICO laws.

Panliant Financial and co-plaintiffs Alan G. Smith and A.G. Solution on Monday filed a federal complaint against Canadian tech firm ISee3D, saying the company committed fraud.

U.S. District Judge Philip Pro dismissed the case on Jan. 16 for Panliant's failure to serve ISee3D until 185 days after a court-ordered deadline to do so.

Panliant refiled the case on Jan. 26. It claims that ISee3D hired it as a financial consultant in 2007. Smith and A.G. Solution were its shareholders at the time, along with Dwight Romanica, according to the renewed lawsuit.

Panliant says it helped ISee3D restructure to reduce its debt and, along with A.G., extended credit to the tech firm, and Smith became CEO of its Vancouver entity in 2008. Panliant says it intended to profit through consulting fees.

It claims that Romanica became CEO of ISee3D's Montreal operation in 2008, after that entity accepted funding from Panliant, which Panliant had obtained from Smith.

After becoming CEO in Montreal, Panliant says, Romanica and others forced Smith out of his CEO position and made him chief financial officer. Romanica then performed the services for which Panliant had been contracted and through which Panliant and Smith intended to recoup the money loaned to ISee3D and generate a profit, according to Panliant.

Panliant claims that Romanica "used his undue influence as CEO of ISee3D" to remove Smith and Panliant from their roles and "pursued trumped up litigation" to remove Smith's shares.

Romanica is not named as a defendant. But Panliant claims he "committed unlawful acts" to harm Panliant and Smith.

In the new filing, Panliant accuses ISee3D of three counts of federal RICO violations and one count of Nevada RICO violations. It seeks punitive damages for fraud, conspiracy, bad faith and intentional and negligent misrepresentation.

It is represented by Allyson R. Noto, with Sylvester and Polednak.

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