Veritas Financial is suing the local Merchaneer firm, alleging that after it gained a 30 percent share in Merchaneer that the firm began transferring its clients to a new firm.
It was also charged that Merchaneer principal Raymond C. "Clint" Feher has been "raiding Merchaneer's bank account to pay for casino trips, luxury resort stays, large cash withdrawals and other expenses unrelated to Merchaneer's business."
The Chancery Court complaint said Veritas officials learned "that Clint Feher was surreptitiously shutting down Merchaneer and attempting to transfer its assets and customer relationships to a new company, UCAL (Unified Commerce AL), without informing Veritas."
The suit says Merchaneer has 22 members, however, Clint Feher and his father, Raymond G. "Butch" Feher, have the controlling interest.
It says in 2022, Merchaneer granted Veritas a 30 percent membership interest in exchange for Veritas' agreement to furnish certain services related to Merchaneer's payment processing business.
Also, Merchaneer named Veritas stockholders Ella Wayne and Jeremy Fried as officers and began including them in regular management meetings, it was stated. It says Ella Wayne served as Merchaneer's chief information officer and Jeremy Fried as its chief technology officer.
The suit says Merchaneer's "sole valuable asset is an electronic payment gateway known as 'Goldilocks.' "
It says Merchaneer borrowed money from Rock Point Bank to purchase the software code for Goldilocks.
The complaint says Veritas made improvements to the Goldilocks code and maintained the code. It was paid $30,000 per month by Merchaneer for its services.
It says the relationship between Veritas and Merchaneer "soured" and monthly payments stopped this April. Ella Wayne and Jeremy Fried were excluded from Merchaneer operations, it was stated.
The complaint says Merchaneer had been providing payment processing for numerous clients in Tennesse, including Johnny Cash's Bar & BBQ, Nudies Honky Tonk, Skull's Rainbow Room and Sinatra's Bar & Lounge, but those clients were switched to UCAL.
Veritas said Clint Feher advised in one text that Goldilocks had been sold to pay investors. Veritas said it did not receive any of the proceeds.
Veritas said it asked for specific information about the Merchaneer business and learned that Merchaneer had added 11 investors between February 2023 and December 2023, who invested a total of $1.4 million.
It says, "After accepting their money, Clint Feher defrauded the new Merchaneer minority investors and Veritas by using Merchaneer as his personal piggy bank.
The complaint says from June 2023 to August 2024, he "made extensive personal purchases and withdrawals directly from the Merchaneer business checking account."
These were listed as:
- Cash withdrawals from numerous casino ATMs, including Harrah's Kansas City, Golden Nugget, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand Las Vegas, Seminole Hard Rock Casino Tampa, Seminole Hard Rock Casino Fort Lauderdale, Harrah's Cherokee and Bestbet Jacksonville Poker Room
- No less than $198,967 in unidentified cash withdrawals
- A $19,000 transfer to Natalie Tirapelli ("Clint Feher's spouse, who is not employed by and provides no services to Merchaneer") in Oct. 24, 2023, one day after Merchaneer received a $100,000 deposit from an investor
- Payments for accommodations, dining and entertainment for at least one personal trip to Blue Ridge, Ga.
- Payments of $10,000 and $15,000 to Margaritaville Enterprises
- Payment of $2,500 to Vacasa, a short-term rental firm
The suit says, "Merchaneer is an electronic payment processing company. There is no apparent legitimate business-related purpose for Merchaneer to withdraw over $198,000 in cash over a 14-month period. Nor has Merchaneer or Clint Feher produced books and records which could explain the business purpose for these withdrawals, despite Veritas' requests."
The complaint says over the same period, Merchaneer also distributed at least $315,000 to Casey Smith, Merchaneer's chief business officer and owner of an 18.75 percent interest in the firm.
The suit asks that Merchaneer be ordered to turn over all requested records and pay unspecified damages to Veritas.
It was filed by Nashville attorney Stephen M. Montgomery.