A federal judge in Washington dismissed a defamation lawsuit filed by XRP-focused influencer Jake Claver against content creator Zach Rector on September 2. The court ruled that Rector's 2025 videos about Claver's Digital Ascension Group and Digital Wealth Partners contained no actionably false statements.
Judge Kymberly K. Evanson granted Rector's motion under Washington's Uniform Public Expression Protection Act, the state's anti-SLAPP law designed to protect speech on matters of public concern. The court dismissed all of Claver's claims, including defamation, tortious interference, conspiracy, and breach of contract, and ruled Rector is entitled to recover his attorneys' fees and litigation costs. Claver has until September 23 to file an amended complaint.
Basis for Rector's Videos
Rector's videos drew on Claver's own admissions in a separate New York lawsuit filed by payments processor Verivend Inc. According to court documents, Claver acknowledged fabricating emails, wire transfer confirmations, and a screenshot of a purported Verivend wallet dashboard showing a false balance exceeding $1 million. Court filings also show Claver admitted to impersonating Verivend employees on multiple occasions to generate fake email threads.
Rector's Statement
Rector confirmed the ruling, stating that the court found no false statements in his videos and that Claver's lawsuit had targeted his free speech rights on a matter of public interest. Rector said he is entitled to recover his attorneys' fees because the lawsuit was deemed meritless and targeted his speech protections.
