Luis Ruelas and Marcello Genovese, CEO of Vinivia, are reportedly embroiled in allegations of financial misconduct involving millions of dollars owed to employees, companies, vendors, and agencies despite their empty business accounts. Switzerland-based Vinivia aims to help content creators monetize through live streaming.
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Despite Ruelas’s claims of no ties with Genovese, sources indicate the two shared an office space in Los Angeles. Additionally, an Instagram reel features Ruelas endorsing Vinivia, hinting at their collaboration. Recently, it was reported that Ruelas secured a $1 million loan using his mansion as collateral. Close sources revealed Genovese reportedly instructed employees that Ruelas was an investor, mandating a $300,000 check to be written to a fictitious entity named Influencer Nation and another $100,000 for personal use by him and his sons. It emerged that Influencer Nation was non-existent, with no actual investors behind it.
Genovese is also accused of engaging in a fraudulent $6 million deal with the D’Amelio family, which fell through following fan backlash. He purportedly approached U.S. banks for loans due to a lack of funds for upfront payments to vendors and unwilling to utilize personal funds. Several Swiss vendors and contractors reportedly remain unpaid, and the company often fails to meet payroll deadlines due to insufficient funds, leading to the termination of employee health insurance. Sources also disclosed that Vinivia falsely claimed expansion through a new platform called Vidpresso, which was founded by Randall Bennett and not associated with Vinivia.
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Additionally, all but one employee at Vinivia were terminated after the company reportedly accrued an additional debt of $1.5 million owed to various companies in May. Close sources revealed that Genovese is accused of fabricating emails from Vinivia to another company, attempting to illicitly secure $60 million. Furthermore, he is alleged to owe over $335,000 to another business, following bounced payments stemming from fraudulent wire transfers and credit card transactions.
Amid these allegations, Genovese nor Ruelas have released a statement and Vinivia’s comments are turned off on all social media platforms.