MinedMap, Inc., a Nevada limited liability, Plaintiff v. Northway Mining, LLC, Michael Maranda, Mining Power Group, Inc., Hudson Data Center, Inc., Dror Svorai, Michael Carter, an individual, Coinmint, LLC, Michael Maranda LLC, Porter King Hill Contracting LLC, Anthony Porter, Lori S. Thompson-Maranda, Lori S. Thompson-Maranda LCSW, PLLC, 38 Oaklawn Avenue, Farmingville, NY 11738, 631-655-8795, Oswego Data, LLC, 38 Oaklawn Avenue, Farmingville, NY 11738, M&T Bank, N.A., Teachers Federal Credit Union, Christine Maranda, an individual, Roseann Maranda, an individual, Douglas Maranda, an individual, Donald D’Avanzo, an individual, Ethereum Ventures, LLC, a New York limited liability company, Angelo Pope, an individual, Jeffrey Holbrook, an individual and a resident of the state of New York, Melissa Welsh, an individual and a resident of the State of New York, XYZ Corporation, entities formed by Michael Maranda and Other Defendants, and XYZ Limited Liability Company, formed by Michael Maranda and other Defendants; Real Property at 38 Oaklawn Avenue, Athens, New York, Defendants.1 MEMORANDUM DECISION and ORDER I. INTRODUCTION On April 12, 2019, plaintiffs 9384-2557 Québec Inc. (“Québec”), MinedMap, Inc. (“MinedMap”), and Serenity Alpha, LLC (“Serenity”) filed this action in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York against defendants Northway Mining, LLC (“Northway”), Michael Maranda (“Maranda”), Michael Carter (“Carter”), CSX4236 Motorcycle Salvage, LLC (“Motorcycle Salvage”), Dror Svorai (“Svorai”), Mining Power Group, Inc. (“Mining Power”), and Hudson Data Center (“Hudson Data”) alleging that the named defendants violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”) and related state law by conspiring to commit, and by committing, inter alia, mail and wire fraud. Dkt. No. 2. Broadly stated, plaintiffs’ complaint alleged that Northway, Maranda, Carter, and other affiliated individuals and entities misrepresented the existence of a specially equipped warehouse facility in Coxsackie, New York (the “Facility”) that could handle the significant electrical power output needed to “mine” bitcoin, a form of digital currency. Dkt. No. 2. Bitcoin “mining” is performed by high-powered computers that solve (or “hash”) complex math equations. The process of solving these math problems actually creates new bitcoin, a valuable digital commodity. According to the complaint, Québec, MinedMap, and/or Serenity own several thousand of these high-end bitcoin mining computers (also called “machines” or “miners”) and tried to contract with the named defendants to host them at the Facility. Plaintiffs alleged that they sent thousands of these bitcoin mining machines to the Facility and deposited large sums of money with the named defendants to finance the costs associated with the spike in electrical consumption. Plaintiffs alleged that instead of buying electrical power, defendants “used the funds to purchase personal items, pay mortgages on personal homes they own, and [make] other similar purchases.” On April 23, 2019, U.S. District Judge Brian M. Cogan issued a writ of replevin that directed the U.S. Marshals Service to seize certain property at issue in this litigation. Dkt. No. 12. However, Judge Cogan vacated that order the following day and transferred the case to this judicial district after finding that the bitcoin mining machines were allegedly located in the Northern District of New York. Upon transfer to this district, the case was initially assigned to Senior U.S. District Judge Thomas J. McAvoy, who granted plaintiffs’ emergency request for the writ of replevin on April 29, 2019. Dkt. Nos. 19-20, 22. According to a status report later filed by plaintiffs, they spent the next six months “working with law enforcement” to satisfy the writ. See Dkt. No. 28. On March 12, 2020, plaintiffs amended their complaint to add Michael Maranda, LLC (“MMLLC”), Porter King Hill Contracting, LLC (“Porter King”), and Coinmint, LLC (“Coinmint”) as named defendants in this action. Dkt. No. 29. The amended pleading re-alleged a civil RICO claim against all of the named defendants. Id. The pleading also added a series of new state law claims related to the ongoing dispute over possession of the bitcoin mining machines. See id. For some reason, plaintiffs almost immediately tried to amend their complaint a second time, Dkt. No. 37, but it was stricken from the docket as inappropriately filed by U.S. Magistrate Judge Christian F. Hummel, Dkt. No. 49. Thereafter, plaintiffs moved for leave to amend their complaint in accordance with the Federal Rules. Dkt. Nos. 50-51. On May 8, 2020, Northway, Maranda, Hudson Data, and MMLLC moved under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b) to dismiss plaintiffs’ amended complaint on various grounds, including failure to state a plausible claim for relief. Dkt. No. 55. Carter later filed his own motion to dismiss on broadly similar grounds. Dkt. No. 113. The parties fully briefed these motions. See, e.g., Dkt. Nos. 58, 60. During this period, plaintiffs sought emergency discovery before Judge McAvoy, Dkt. No. 67, which was denied, Dkt. No. 68, and then emergency discovery before Judge Hummel, Dkt. No. 69, who granted the request in part after a hearing, Dkt. No. 76. Plaintiffs later voluntarily dismissed their claims against Porter King, Coinmint, Svorai, and Mining Power. Dkt. No. 91. On July 13, 2020, plaintiffs moved for the issuance or re-issuance of an emergency writ of replevin because the named defendants had allegedly refused to release the bitcoin mining machines. Dkt. No. 81. According to plaintiffs, the named defendants had actually moved the bitcoin mining computers to a different physical location in defiance of the Court’s prior orders. Id. Following some procedural wrangling, Judge McAvoy granted that motion. Dkt. Nos. 84, 88, 99, 101. Thereafter, plaintiffs filed four new motions. First, plaintiffs moved under Rule 70(e) for the issuance of civil and criminal contempt sanctions against defendants Maranda and Carter and non-party Melissa Welsh (“Welsh”). Dkt. No 110. Second, plaintiffs moved for an award of attorney’s fees to cover the cost of the latest motion for replevin. Dkt. No. 112. Third, plaintiffs moved under Rule 64 for pre-judgment attachment of certain assets based on their contention that defendants were dissipating assets in anticipation of a large money judgment against them. Dkt. No. 112. Fourth, plaintiffs moved for the release of $197,275.00 in insurance proceeds being held by defendants. Dkt. No. 141. These four motions were fully briefed. See, e.g., Dkt. Nos. 115-22. In the meantime, plaintiffs continued to seek additional emergency relief before Judge Hummel. See, e.g., Dkt. Nos. 134, 139. Those requests were denied by Judge McAvoy. Dkt. No. 140. On February 17, 2021, Judge McAvoy granted in part and denied in part the Rule 12(b) motions to dismiss that had been filed by Northway, Maranda, Hudson Data, MMLLC, and Carter. 9384-2557 Quebec, Inc. v. Northway Mining LLC, 2021 WL 619413 (N.D.N.Y. Feb. 17, 2021) (McAvoy, J.). As relevant here, Judge McAvoy dismissed plaintiffs Serenity and Québec from this suit because of a contractual forum-selection clause that required the parties to litigate their dispute in a state forum. 9384-2557 Quebec, Inc., at *13-*15. Judge McAvoy also dismissed the civil RICO claim against all the named defendants. Id. at *18-*12. And although he denied plaintiffs’ long-pending motion to amend, Judge McAvoy granted MinedMap — the remaining plaintiff — leave to file another amended complaint if it believed it could cure some or all of the various pleading defects identified in the February opinion. Id. at *15. On March 8, 2021, MinedMap filed a second amended pleading. Dkt. No. 150. This latest pleading asserts twelve counts against twenty-five defendants, including a number of entities that were previously voluntarily dismissed without prejudice. Id. Notably, it includes a re-pleaded version of the civil RICO claim dismissed by Judge McAvoy in the February opinion. On March 17, 2021, Judge McAvoy recused himself from this matter. Dkt. No. 151. The case was initially reassigned to Senior U.S. District Judge Lawrence E. Kahn. Dkt. No. 152. The case was then reassigned to this Court on March 18, 2021. Dkt. No. 153. On March 31, 2021, this Court denied plaintiffs’ still-pending motions for contempt, pre-judgment attachment, attorney’s fees, and a disbursement of insurance proceeds. Serenity Alpha, LLC v. Northway Mining, LLC, __F. Supp. 3d__, 2021 WL 1202131, at *5-*6 (N.D.N.Y. Mar. 31, 2021). On April 1, 2021, Northway, Maranda, MMLLC, Hudson Data, and Carter (collectively the “moving defendants”) moved under Rule 12(b)(1) and (b)(6) to dismiss the second amended complaint. Dkt. No. 157. That motion has been fully briefed and will be considered on the basis of the submissions without oral argument.2 II. BACKGROUND The following facts are taken from the Second Amended Complaint, Dkt. No. 150, and are assumed true for the limited purpose of resolving the motion to dismiss. The latest pleading retains the same core thread running through plaintiffs’ prior two filings: it alleges that Québec, MinedMap, and/or Serenity sent “more than 3,600″ bitcoin mining computers to be hosted by Northway and the other named defendants at the specialized Facility in Coxsackie, New York. Second Am. Compl.
4, 71. In particular, the new complaint alleges that defendant Maranda, directly and through various intermediaries, misrepresented Northway’s power supply capacity, infrastructure capabilities, and business capitalization broadly to the cryptocurrency community. Second Am. Compl.
