Georgia Criminal Court Hearing: Bank of America & GoDaddy CEOs Face Racketeering Charges

Georgia Criminal Warrant Hearing

• 📅 A criminal warrant application hearing was held on July 15, 2024, in a Georgia courtroom, addressing 16 applications filed by Erik M. Underwood.
• 🎯 The applications targeted executives from Bank of America (including CEO Brian Moynihan) and GoDaddy (including CEO Aman Bhutani), who were notably absent but represented by counsel.
• ⚖️ The primary charges alleged were racketeering under Georgia law (OCGA 16-14-4), alongside predicate offenses like conspiracy, fraud, theft, and false statements.

Allegations of Trademark Fraud

• 💡 The core of the dispute centers on the alleged fraudulent cancellation of Mr. Underwood's Georgia trademark "ERICA," registered since 2010.
• 🏦 Bank of America and GoDaddy executives are accused of a coordinated scheme to defraud the Georgia Secretary of State, clearing the path for Bank of America to claim "ERICA" as their own.
• 📝 Bank of America allegedly submitted false declarations to the USPTO, claiming a first-use date of March 7, 2018, despite their own press release stating "June 2018 – Erica launches."

Key Evidence and Objections

• 💬 A central piece of evidence discussed was a deposition transcript of GoDaddy employee Kina Willis, who allegedly admitted to falsifying a date in a declaration at the instruction of Bank of America's attorneys.
• 🛡️ Defense counsel objected to the introduction of this transcript, citing a protective order from a prior federal IP litigation case in Colorado, arguing it was still in effect.
• 🧾 Mr. Underwood also presented GoDaddy hosting receipts to counter claims made in the declaration, aiming to prove his earlier use of the "ERICA" trademark.

Defense Arguments and Court's Decision

• 🚫 The defense contended that the trademark cancellation was a court-ordered outcome of a resolved six-year IP litigation in Colorado, not a criminal act.
• ⚖️ They argued that Mr. Underwood's applications were identical, lacked credible evidence of a crime, and were an attempt to "relitigate his losses."
• 🛑 The judge ultimately dismissed all 16 warrant applications without ruling on the merits, citing a newly disclosed ongoing criminal investigation by the Fulton County Sheriff's Department and the DA's office, to avoid interfering with their process.