rewrite this title Hashling NFT Founder Sued for Alleged Multi-Million Dollar Fraud

Investors have filed a fraud lawsuit against the founder of the Hashling NFT project, alleging that millions of dollars from the NFT initiative and a connected Bitcoin mining operation were misappropriated.

According to court documents filed on May 14 in Illinois, the plaintiffs claim that Jonathan Mills, a former business associate, misled them by transferring assets from Hashling NFT and at least $3 million from a Bitcoin mining project into Satoshi Labs LLC—a holding company he founded and operates as CEO. The company was formerly known as Proof of Work Labs LLC.

Investors Accuse Mills of Fraud and Breach of Trust

The plaintiffs allege that they never received the equity returns they were promised. They also claim that $1.46 million was raised through two NFT sales conducted on the Solana and Bitcoin blockchains, yet no returns were ever distributed.

According to the lawsuit, Mills eventually cut off communication with the investors and produced a flawed shareholder agreement, allegedly to falsely claim control of the project’s assets under his holding company.

The agreement stated that Mills would hold a 67% equity stake in Proof of Work Labs (later renamed Satoshi Labs), while other investors—despite contributing up to $20,000—would receive only 2% stakes.

Mills allegedly assured investors that the name change would not affect their equity, yet the same agreement also gave him 67% voting power, while no other partner had more than 2% voting rights.

Cointelegraph attempted to reach Mills but received no immediate response.

Mills Had Limited Knowledge of NFTs

The Hashling NFT project originated from an earlier idea discussed between Mills and one of the plaintiffs, Dustin Steerman, who had previously collaborated with Mills. Despite initially admitting that he lacked both funding and experience in NFTs, Mills continued to lead the Hashling initiative.

According to Clinton Ind, the investors’ lawyer from Ind Legal Group LLC, Mills “had the desire to move the project forward and initially contributed ideas,” even if they were not final. “Everyone enjoyed collaborating in those early stages.”

To support the success of the Hashling project, Mills and Steerman brought in several other investors—now plaintiffs—who contributed in areas ranging from NFT art creation and social media marketing to attending NFT conferences in New York.

The plaintiffs even allege that Mills persuaded his girlfriend to invest in the Hashling NFT project.

Full Legal Compensation Demanded

In addition to fraud and breach of trust allegations, the plaintiffs are seeking the establishment of a constructive trust over project assets and are demanding full legal compensation.

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