SEC files new fraud complaint as Lottery.com shares plummet 94% from peak

A new complaint from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been filed against Lottery.com and former senior executives for alleged financial fraud after a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger. This marks a significant development in the ongoing collapse that has drastically reduced the company’s market value over the years.

The SEC’s litigation release named four individuals who were involved in the alleged fraud, including Lawrence Anthony DiMatteo, the former CEO of Lottery.com, as well as executives Ryan Dickinson and Matthew Clemenson. Vadim Komissarov, who served as the CEO of SPAC Trident Acquisitions Corp, was also implicated in the complaint. The merger between the two companies was completed in October 2021 following its announcement in November 2020.

Concerns about accounting irregularities surfaced in mid-2022 when the board of directors discovered possible fraud related to the reported revenue and cash balances of the company. DiMatteo resigned as CEO in July 2022 after admitting to inflating the company’s cash balance by $30 million in an SEC filing. Dickinson was fired by the board on July 1, and Clemenson resigned on July 11.

The aftermath of the scandal led to severe legal and financial repercussions, nearly causing the collapse of Lottery.com in 2024. The company’s shares are now trading at a significantly decreased value compared to their all-time high of $26.45, reflecting substantial investor losses due to the SPAC merger and subsequent events. Following the recent news, Lottery.com’s shares dropped by almost 17% on January 26.

The SEC alleges that the defendants orchestrated fraudulent revenue schemes to inflate Lottery.com’s financial statements before and after the Trident merger. The complaint states that these transactions represented a substantial portion of the company’s reported revenue during critical reporting periods, deceiving investors both pre and post-merger. The regulator outlined a series of falsified transactions, including a phony $9 million sale of customer data and a fabricated $30 million advertising deal, among others.

In response to the SEC’s lawsuit, Dickinson and Clemenson agreed to permanent bans on serving as directors or officers of public companies. They also committed to certain financial penalties without admitting any wrongdoing. Additionally, the company and its former executives faced multiple lawsuits, with one case involving a putative class action by investors alleging violations of federal securities law during a specific period.

Moreover, Vadim Komissarov, the former CEO of Trident Acquisitions Corp, faced criminal charges for profiting from the SPAC merger by selling Lottery.com shares before the fraudulent activities were exposed. He allegedly attempted to impede the SEC’s investigation by informing executives at Lottery.com about ongoing probes and providing false information to the SEC. Komissarov faces a potential prison sentence of up to 15 years, pending the outcome of the criminal case.

Lottery.com defended itself against allegations of market manipulation through a coordinated “short-and-distort” campaign in 2025 and maintained its innocence in those accusations. However, regulatory focus remains on the company’s financial reporting and disclosure practices. Despite these challenges, Lottery.com aims to rebrand and chart a new course, originally starting as a lottery courier service before transitioning to digital offerings.