Clayton and Elisha Sampson have been ordered to pay $750,000 in punitive damages.

In awarding punitive damages on September 30th, the court noted discrepancies in the Sampsons’ testimony and failure to produce requested financial records.

Discrepancies in the financial standing of Defendants has been caused by the contradictory testimony of Defendants and the failure of Defendants to produce complete records during discovery and in response to Court orders.

For example, Elisha Sampson argued that a judgment involving fraud may affect her ability to sell life insurance policies. But when questioned by Plaintiffs’ counsel as to whether she had been able to sell life insurance in the last year, Elisha testified that she had done so.

Additionally, evidence was presented at the January 2024 trial showing that Clayton Sampson filed a bankruptcy petition on December 14, 2018.

This was same date on which the Sampsons were discussing an investment in EnvyTV with the Plaintiffs.

In his bankruptcy petition, Clayton Sampson stated, under penalty of perjury, that his estimated assets were worth between $0 and $50,000 as of December 14, 2018.

Later during trial, Clayton Sampson contradicted the sworn statements made in his 2018 bankruptcy petition, testifying that the value of his crypto holdings was “in the neighborhood” of $200,000 or $300,000 at the time EnvyTV was formed in December 2018.

Clayton Sampson similarly provided contradictory testimony regarding his crypto holdings at the February 2025 punitive damages hearing.

On direct examination, Clayton Sampson testified that his crypto account balance as of the date of the hearing was 1,273.31 and this was the extent of his crypto holdings.

Later, on crossexamination, Clayton Sampson confirmed that his prior testimony regarding 1,273.31 in his crypto account referred to the number of units of crypto held by Mr. Sampson, not the value of his crypto holdings.

Notwithstanding this testimony, prior to the conclusion of the hearing, the Court asked Clayton Sampson to clarify his testimony regarding his crypto holdings.

In response to the Court’s inquiry, Clayton Sampson contradicted his prior sworn testimony and testified that his reference to 1,273.31 in his crypto account referred to the dollar value of his crypto holdings.

Defendants [also] failed to produce 2021 corporate and personal tax returns.

In response to the Court’s order for an accounting, the Sampsons produced a Profit and Loss Statement titled “Clayton and Elisha Business Activity” for the period January 2019-February 2024.

This document was admitted into evidence as Plaintiffs’ Exhibit 94. The P&L Statement reflects income of almost $4.8 million, the majority of which is from EnvyTV subscriptions.

Other items in the P&L income section refer to income generated from other Envy-related entities such as EnvyCares and EnvyConnect.

There is no reference to income generated from business opportunities Clayton Sampson has publicly promoted through an online platform called “EnvySolutions International.”

Through that platform, Clayton Sampson promoted various earnings opportunities known by names such as “EtherConnect,” “D.AI.SY,” “Omega Digital” and “Meta Trader 5.” Id. The P&L Statement does not reflect any income from these other Envy-related business ventures.

Meta Trader 5 is a free online trading software platform. EtherConnect, Daisy Global and Omega Digital are MLM crypto Ponzi schemes.

It’s unclear whether the Sampsons (right) reported crypto holdings and money stolen through MLM crypto Ponzi schemes to the IRS.

The P&L Statement further reflects “costs of goods sold” consisting of more than $1.3 million in EnvyTV Affiliate Commissions.

Evidence at trial showed that both Clayton and Elisha Sampson received significant EnvyTV Affiliate commissions, and their commissions increased when they demoted or decreased the Plaintiffs’ Affiliate positions.

Yet the P&L Statement does not reflect any EnvyTV Affiliate commissions paid to Clayton and Elisha Sampson.

In conclusion, the court determined;

The underlying conduct, fraud and securities fraud, offends the public’s sense of justice and propriety. Therefore, a punishing award of punitive damages is necessary to deter future misconduct of this kind.

The conduct of Defendants during discovery, at trial, and during post-trial discovery and hearings suggests that the Court should award a larger amount of punitive damages.

The failure of Defendants to be forthright and clear in explaining their financial situation and accounting for the millions of dollars gathered during their scheme buttress the Court’s underlying finding of fraud and its determination that punitive damages should be awarded.

Accordingly, the Court orders an award of punitive damages in the amount of $750,000.00, nearly two times the amount of compensatory damages ($100,000.00 in consideration + $284,717.28 unpaid affiliate commissions).

Plaintiffs Mary Jane Beauregard and John Hugh Smith filed suit against the Sampsons in 2020, alleging they’d been duped into investing in EnvyTV.

EnvyTV was a pirated content streaming MLM company Clayton Sampson launched in 2019.

The awarded $750,000 in punitive damages follows a $810,445 default judgment handed down last September. This brings the total amount awarded to Beauregard and Smith to $1.56 million.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Clayton Sampson has been a promoter of World Financial Group (aka World Leadership Group) since 2004.

World Financial Group is an MLM company that markets financial and insurance services. As a promoter, Clayton represents he holds the rank of Senior Executive Chairman.