Abioye

I. BACKGROUND1

A. Facts Defendant Raymond Lee has known Abioye’s family for 25 years. In April 2015, Raymond gifted Abioye $180,000 to help him purchase property, of which Abioye became the sole owner. In December 2015, unbeknownst to Abioye, his father, Moses Abioye, and Raymond signed a loan agreement establishing the terms of a loan commencing in April 2015. In the agreement, Raymond loaned Moses $180,000 used as the down payment to purchase the property. The loan accrued no interest for the first six months then began to accrue interest if it was not repaid. In October 2019, Raymond and his wife, Shanna Lee (collectively, Lees), went to one of Abioye’s properties and through intimidation, extortion, and fraud, induced Moses to sign an addendum to the loan agreement which increased the interest rate. Abioye was unaware of the loan agreement and the addendum until October 2020. At some point, a dispute arose regarding the $180,000. Raymond claimed it was a loan, not a gift, and told people that Abioye was a party to, and in default on, a loan. In March 2020, Raymond texted Abioye and “represented/communicated that he was acting on behalf of” defendant Corporation of the…