The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed charges against Lottery.com, its former Chief Executive Lawrence Anthony DiMatteo, former Executives Matthew Clemenson and Ryan Dickinson, and Vadim Komissarov, CEO of special purpose acquisition company Trident Acquisitions Corp, alleging a series of fraudulent schemes connected to Lottery.com’s public listing.
In a complaint filed on January 22 in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, the SEC alleges that the defendants orchestrated multiple sham revenue transactions before and after Lottery.com’s merger with Trident, which took the company public during the height of the SPAC boom in 2021.
According to the SEC, Komissarov planned and executed a scheme, with the participation of DiMatteo, Clemenson, and Dickinson, in which Lottery.com purportedly received $9m for customer data described as valueless.
The funds were allegedly recorded as revenue and then used to overpay for two Mexican businesses, effectively returning the money to its original source.
The complaint further alleges that, in the weeks leading up to the SPAC merger, Lottery.com executives engaged in a second scheme involving a fictitious $30m sale of advertising credits.
Following the merger, the SEC claims two additional bogus transactions were executed, totaling more than $35m. The regulator alleges these transactions accounted for most of the company’s reported revenue and materially misled investors.
Lottery.com, which rebranded as SEGG Media Corporation in July 2025, was among the poorest-performing SPAC listings of its era and currently trades more than 99% below its peak valuation.
DiMatteo resigned in July 2022 after the company disclosed it had overstated its cash balance by $30m, a significant figure relative to its then market capitalization. Clemenson and Dickinson had resigned earlier the same month.
The SEC alleges the board became aware of the fraud by mid-2022, after which the company’s market value fell from approximately $400m to under $10m, with most of the board subsequently stepping down.
Without admitting or denying the allegations, Clemenson and Dickinson have agreed to settlements that include permanent injunctions and bans from serving as officers or directors of public companies, pending court approval.
The case adds to heightened regulatory scrutiny across US gaming, betting, and market-adjacent sectors. In December 2025, prediction market operator Kalshi sued Connecticut regulators after being ordered to halt operations, reflecting ongoing legal disputes around federal versus state oversight in emerging wagering and financial products.
The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, civil penalties, and officer-and-director bans
