Former FaZe member threatens legal action against YouTubers who exposed his crypto scheme

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A cease-and-desist has been filed against Coffeezilla's investigation into the murky cryptocurrency launch.

FaZe logo on red
(Image credit: FaZe Clan)

Two weeks back, former Faze member Frazier "Kay" Khattri was booted from the competitive gaming clan after he and three others were found pushing a shady "pump and dump" cryptocurrency scheme. Now, YouTubers who helped break the story say Kay is slamming them with cease and desist notices to stop the news spreading any further.

Kay, along with three now-suspended Faze members, was found to have helped promote a new "Save the Kids" crypto coin, whose sales would be given in-part to charity. Of course, shortly after launch, the value of the sale crashed—leaving buyers at a massive loss while promotors like Kay allegedly made bank.

Coffeezilla, one of the YouTubers who made videos exposing the immediate collapse of the Save The Kids launch Kay helped promote, wrote on Twitter yesterday that the former Faze member was threatening legal action if he didn't remove his videos on the matter—claiming they caused him to lose "millions in revenue".

The C&D letter, viewable on Imgur (via Kotaku), accuses Coffeezilla of extortion for asking Kay to comment on his investigation. Admittedly, the quoted message does hold a somewhat threatening tone, with Coffeezilla supposedly writing: 

"Kay, I'm serious man. You've gotta start talking. We've found so much more on you and if you keep hiding behind these 2 min statements, it's never gonna work."

It also cites several false and defamatory statements from Coffeezilla regarding his suggestion that Kay "dumped all of his [Save the Kids] tokens immediately" and that he has a history of "dumping nearly every crypto project he's ever been involved in".

Kay's lawyers have demanded that Coffeezilla retract his statements and videos, else be hit with a lawsuit for the supposed damages Kay is seeking—a suit that, according  to Coffeezilla, may also affect other YouTubers who covered the crypto scheme.

All this time, Kay himself has been attempting to paint himself as a victim. In a video dated July 9, Kay begs viewers to "please, please do not believe what you’re hearing online," explaining that his team has discovered evidence that a third party had supposedly masterminded this scheme and manipulated several Faze members to do so. 

"We’ve uncovered significant evidence that a dishonest person abused his trust with me to scam everybody," Kay explains. "This person gained my trust and the trust of my friends while still encouraging us to be the public face of his scheme."

With Coffeezilla not showing any signs of backing down (having already used the C&D notice to post yet another YouTube video), there's a good chance this suit may indeed go to court. 

Natalie Clayton
Natalie Clayton
Features Producer

20 years ago, Nat played Jet Set Radio Future for the first time, and she's not stopped thinking about games since. Joining PC Gamer in 2020, she comes from three years of freelance reporting at Rock Paper Shotgun, Waypoint, VG247 and more. Embedded in the European indie scene and a part-time game developer herself, Nat is always looking for a new curiosity to scream about—whether it's the next best indie darling, or simply someone modding a Scotmid into Black Mesa. She also unofficially appears in Apex Legends under the pseudonym Horizon.