The founder of Stream Finance is suing a business partner, accusing him of misappropriating $93 million to cover personal losses.

PANews reported on December 12th that, according to DL News, in early November, Stream Finance, an Ethereum-based yield protocol, stated that an "external fund manager" lost $93 million in cryptocurrency, representing approximately 17% of its entrusted assets. On Monday, Stream's co-founder, acting on behalf of Stream Trading Corp., filed a lawsuit accusing Georgia resident Ryan DeMattia of misappropriating the funds to cover his personal losses after he defaulted on a personal loan. The lawsuit also alleges that Florida resident Caleb McMeans failed to fulfill agreements signed during a takeover of his brand in January of this year. Stream is currently seeking court enforcement, alleging that McMeans is shirking responsibility.

The lawsuit details the short and convoluted history of the Stream protocol, which operated for only nine months before shutting down in November 2024 due to slowing growth and "operational challenges." Following McMeans' acquisition offer, the agreement stipulated that McMeans would gain full control, with Stream acting as a service provider, and McMeans required to allocate fees, assume responsibility, and disclose fund flows. However, after reaching multiple off-chain agreements, it became increasingly difficult to monitor Stream's trading strategies in real time. In September, the co-founders demanded greater transparency, but McMeans repeatedly delayed. He later admitted to having an "employee," DeMattia, invest over $90 million off-chain and helping DeMattia evade questioning from the co-founders. McMeans eventually relented, admitting he had no formal relationship with DeMattia and agreeing to withdraw the cryptocurrency he had entrusted to this "employee."