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How a $250 million acquisition collapsed into allegations of fraud and forged signatures

8 d ago

VideoVerse’s $250 million acquisition by Minute Media, announced in September 2025, has collapsed amid fraud allegations, leaving investors unpaid and CEO Vinayak Shrivastav at the center of multiple legal cases. The Indian AI-powered clipping startup, known for its Magnifi platform used by FIFA+ and the Indian Premier League, was acquired by the international sports publisher to expand into U.S. markets. However, less than a year later, Minute Media terminated the contract in May, citing “significant discrepancies” in VideoVerse’s representations. Investors like Bluestone Capital are now suing for fraud, alleging the startup violated investment terms and refused to pay acquisition proceeds. A separate creditor seeks to recover $64 million from a loan Shrivastav took after the deal closed, claiming he used fraudulent merger documents. VideoVerse’s former COO alleges Shrivastav forged signatures on loan and share-repurchase agreements to extract tens of millions. In October, Shrivastav secured a $55 million structured loan from Lingotto, supposedly to satisfy an earlier creditor, but Lingotto now says critical documents were forged, including the Minute Media CEO’s signature and fake bank balance screenshots. The loan defaulted in March, and by April Shrivastav was ousted as CEO. Multiple overlapping claims are now pending in Delaware Chancery Court, with Minute Media, Lingotto, and Bluestone each seeking restitution. Shrivastav, whose last known address is in Dubai, did not respond to requests for comment. The unraveling deal underscores the limits of due diligence and the reliance on trust in startup transactions, with tens of millions of dollars missing and disputes over where the money went.