A lawsuit filed in November 2020 accuses Clayton Sampson, also known as Clay Sampson, of orchestrating a fraud scheme through EnvyTV, a pirated content streaming multi-level marketing company he launched in 2019. Plaintiffs Mary Jane Beauregard and John Hugh Smith allege they were misled into investing $100,000 in the venture.
The Sampsons, identified as majority owners and co-managers of EnvyTV, approached the plaintiffs in late 2018 seeking investment. Beauregard and Smith were introduced to the Sampsons through a mutual acquaintance, Eddie Freeman, who was listed as an EnvyTV co-founder. The couple promised the plaintiffs a 2% stake in EnvyTV and top-tier affiliate positions in the company’s compensation hierarchy in exchange for their $100,000 investment. This investment essentially secured them a prime spot in the company’s sales structure.
Beauregard and Smith claim they were instrumental in building EnvyTV. The lawsuit details that in May 2020, Freeman assigned his 1% ownership interest and related claims to the plaintiffs. Following their investment on December 14, 2018, via wire transfer, Beauregard and Smith were indeed placed in advanced affiliate positions, with the understanding that all subsequent new affiliates would be placed under them, ensuring their financial benefit as the company grew.
However, the relationship soured several months after the investment. Clayton Sampson reportedly grew dissatisfied with the plaintiffs, believing they were not recruiting enough new affiliates. The lawsuit asserts that in response, Clayton and Elisha Sampson began manipulating the EnvyTV compensation plan. They allegedly moved the plaintiffs’ top-tier affiliate positions, thereby reducing the commissions owed to Beauregard and Smith.
These alleged manipulations resulted in plaintiffs receiving significantly less commission than they were entitled to for the master positions they had purchased. The lawsuit claims that their EnvyTV commissions ceased entirely in early March 2020. This cessation occurred without any prior written notice or communication from the Sampson defendants. The plaintiffs maintain they were defrauded by the Sampsons' misrepresentations regarding their investment and the subsequent manipulation of the compensation structure. The suit names Clayton Sampson, Elisha Sampson, Envy TV, and Envy Solutions as defendants.