Measure 8 Ventures and Other Investors in Sentia Wellness Withdraw All Claims Against Markowitz Herbold Client

All claims against Markowitz Herbold client Nitin Khanna related to a lawsuit brought by investors in CBD company Sentia Wellness have been voluntarily dismissed and withdrawn. The lawsuit was filed by certain investors in Sentia including Boris Jordan from Measure 8 Ventures, Wilder Ramsey from Gron Ventures, Igor Gimelshtein from Zola Global Investors, and Sunny Puri from Anson Advisors.

“I am thrilled with this outcome,” said Nitin Khanna, founder of Cura Partners and Sentia Wellness. “I look forward to putting this entire episode in the rearview mirror.”

In a public statement (see below), the investors declared that they purchased debentures in Cura Partners in 2018 “largely due to Nitin’s business acumen, inspirational leadership, and history of success.” This investment led to the then-largest cannabis merger in history between Cura Partners and Curaleaf. This investment also spawned Sentia Wellness. The statement goes on to state that the investors purchased debentures in Sentia in 2019 because of “Nitin’s expertise, leadership, and knack for success.”

Sentia was a CBD cannabis startup that failed to achieve its promise and was sold because of substantial changes in the regulatory environment due to the FDA’s 2019 guidance, the impact of COVID-19 on retail sales and interference by the very investors who brought the suit. Two of the investors, Boris Jordan and Sunny Puri, sat on Sentia’s board.

The difference in opinion regarding how the company was managed through these hard times resulted in $1.5 billion and $150 million countersuits by Khanna and Sentia respectively. All lawsuits have been dismissed.

“It’s a fantastic result for claims that should never have been brought in the first place,” said Vivek Kothari, Khanna’s attorney.

The previously mentioned investors, among others, provided a public statement (full statement below) that includes the following:

“Despite differences of opinion, now withdrawn and forgotten, the Investors have the same impression of Nitin that they did when they first bought debentures from Cura Partners in 2018. Nitin is a talented businessman, a steadfast and dependable leader, and a charismatic entrepreneur with a future that is even brighter than his past. The Investors look forward to watching, and hopefully profiting from, Nitin’s future endeavors, in the cannabis industry and beyond.”