Safety Shot Exposed

Initial Disclosure: After extensive research, we have taken a short position in shares of Safety Shot Inc (NASDAQ: SHOT). This report represents our opinion and is not financial advice. Do your own due diligence and don't take financial advice from strangers on the internet. Please read our full disclaimer at the bottom of this report.

Introduction

Safety Shot Inc claims to produce a revolutionary detox drink that can lower a persons blood alcohol content by 50% in 30 minutes. Our investigation reveals that the drink is a sham and the company is run by a shady cast of characters with a long history of financial misdeeds. The company’s history of unfulfilled promises, false product claims, and ethically challenged management, lead us to conclude that Safety Shot belongs in the OTC trash bin.

Key Findings

• Safety Shot claims their drink can lower a person’s BAC by up to 50% in 30 minutes.
• The product claims are refuted by the most basic facts of how the human body processes alcohol.
• Key leaders previously worked at notorious firm Stratton Oakmont
• Founders Brian John and Richard Miller, have faced financial troubles, including lawsuits for unpaid debts, evictions, foreclosures, and adverse court judgments.
• Miklos Gulyas has a history of shady dealings, including unpaid debts, lawsuits, evictions, foreclosure, trying to defraud a car dealership, and a fabricated resume.
• Safety Shot markets their beverage as a nutraceutical to avoid FDA regulation. Given the product’s obviously fraudulent claims, we expect regulators to intervene.
• The recent surge in SHOT’s share price is the result of aggressive stock promotion and is detached from the company’s financials.
• Safety Shot spent years claiming to build a CBD product company. Despite their claimed successes, they have completely shifted the business to instead focus on their unreleased Safety Shot drink.
• Management has been in a legal dispute with one of their former associates from Stratton Oakmont.
• Safety Shot is connected to known frauds including SRM Entertainment.

Background

The company Safety Shot Inc, claims to have cures for all kinds of ailments: alopecia, eczema, sexual wellness, and even sunburns. They even got into the business of running their own SPAC. Most recently, Safety Shot has pivoted to selling an alcohol detoxification drink, which they claim can reduce BAC levels by 50% in 30 minutes! So yes, it’s time to get blackout drunk, take a Safety Shot, and drive home safely within 30 minutes!!! Just kidding. The company’s claims about their drink are a complete fiction and defy basic human physiology. It would be laughable if only the product weren’t so dangerous. We believe it’s only a matter of time until someone gets hurt, and the company is shut down by regulators.

8-K Announcing Acquisition

In this report we dig into the sketchy backgrounds of Safety Shot’s management and large investors. We found numerous lawsuits, a securities ban, evictions, foreclosures, a paternity lawsuit, and so much more. Throw in an aggressive promotional strategy, connections to well-known pump & dumps, and you get a fraud typical of reputable places like China or Boca Raton, FL.

The Company CEO and the former Chief Compliance Officer worked together at Stratton Oakmont, the infamous pump-and-dump shop that inspired the movie “The Wolf of Wall Street”. We found more incriminating information than can fit into a single report. So, out of respect for your time, this report includes only a fraction of the dirt we dug up. There is a LOT more that didn’t fit into this report, so feel free to do some digging yourself. These disreputable people have left a long trail of ill-deeds throughout their “professional” dealings.

Brief History

Safety Shot was incorporated in Delaware as CBD Brands (2018-10-24), and struggled on its way to become a public company. In October 2019, the Company filed an S-1 to list on the Nasdaq, but the SEC repeatedly questioned the company’s claims, for example touting “a robust e-commerce platform”, which was a website that didn’t sell any products. And, that they plan to add CBD to branded consumer products to “increase the efficacy of such products.” In reality, the products were not approved by the FDA or any regulatory body. The SEC even stated that it was unclear how “the market for cannabis relates to the company’s business.”

source: SEC Response to S-1

Eventually, in May 2020, CBD Brands changed its name to Jupiter Wellness Inc. [Form 1-U] and made another attempt to go public, filing an S-1 registration in June 2020. [S-1]

At the time of the IPO, Jupiter Wellness (JUPW) claimed to be a “Cutting-edge wellness hemp-derived cannabidiol, or CBD, consumer product development company” with a “proprietary, trademarked line of products: CaniSun, CaniSkin and CaniDermRX”.

By August 2023, the Company acquired Jupiter Wellness along with the assets of GBB Drink Lab Inc, including Safety Shot. At that point, the company seems to have abandoned its years of effort to build a CBD products company and instead went all in on Safety Shot stating that they decided to “Change Company Name and Focus on Launch of World’s First Rapid Blood Alcohol Detox Drink”.

source: 8-K Announcing Acquisition

Safety Shot Drink

The Safety Shot drink is marketed as a nutraceutical functional beverage and makes the bold claim that it can “lower blood alcohol content by up to 50% in just 30 minutes.” [8-K Announcing Acquisition] It doesn’t take a medical doctor to know that the product claims are impossible. It’s complete rubbish; nothing but snake oil. Casting further doubt on the efficacy of Safety Shot, the company claims the drink was created by a doctor who is never named.

When the Company was touting questionable CBD products they were happy to disclose patent IDs in SEC filings. Now, the Company claims that Safety Shot is patented but provides no details to actually identify the patent(s). We wonder what has changed. Despite an exhaustive search, we have been unable to find any patents for Safety Shot. We also haven’t found a patent assigned to the Company (or related companies) for anything resembling the Safety Shot drink. We’re skeptical that the patent exists.

The company claims Safety Shot drastically lowers a person’s BAC based on self-reported testing with no formal clinical validation. This is a serious red flag. The Company asserts that their beverage’s efficacy was established through blood alcohol content testing on dozens of test subjects. However, the company provides no peer-reviewed research, doesn’t share their study data, and doesn’t identify the mysterious patent they claim to own. The statistical results provided, while seemingly favorable, lack the transparency and detail necessary to be evaluated independently. The bolder the claim, the more proof is needed to back it up. In this case, the Company claims to have an antidote for alcohol. If such a thing were possible, it would be a billion dollar pharmaceutical available in every emergency room in the country.

Product Claims

Safety Shot makes three main claims about their product:

1. Can reduce a person’s BAC by up to 50% in 30 minutes
2. Prevents alcohol absorption by lining the stomach
3. Accelerates the conversion of alcohol into sugar within the body

If these claims were true, the drink’s inventors would be leading candidates for the Nobel Prize in Medicine, because it defies mankind’s current understanding of physiology and biochemistry.

1. Can reduce a person’s BAC by up to 50% in 30 minutes

Safety Shot claims their revolutionary drink can lower a person’s BAC by up to 50% in just 30 minutes. The company has made these claims directly in their PRs:

The product packaging also includes the claim “reduces blood alcohol content”:

Management has repeated this claim in numerous interviews, and it’s been echoed in many news articles:

In reality, the scientific and medical consensus is that nothing can lower BAC except time. As Stanford University puts it:

Do a quick Google search and see for yourself.

2. Prevents alcohol absorption by lining the stomach

Besides reducing the alcohol already in a person’s blood, Safety Shot also claims that their drink prevents further alcohol absorption by lining the stomach:

source: https://drinksafetyshot.com/

We believe this claim is complete hogwash. But, rather than get into a deep scientific explanation, we’ll just point out that 80% of alcohol is absorbed in the small intestine, not the stomach. To make Nobel Prize worthy claims like Safety Shot, we would expect them to know this basic fact about alcohol absorption.

source: California Dept of Alcoholic Beverage Control

3. Accelerates the conversion of alcohol into sugar within the body

Safety Shot claims that their drink accelerates the process of converting alcohol into sugar in the body:

This claim is just laughably wrong. Alcohol is metabolized in the liver and not converted into sugar. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism explains the process:

source: niaaa.nih.gov; archived 2023-11-15

At no point in the process is alcohol metabolized into sugar. Either the company invented a drink that re-engineers how the human body processes alcohol, or they’re a bunch of liars.

Safety Shot Drink Development

The Company claims to have “spent roughly ten years and more than $1 million to research and develop the world’s first formulated drink that aids in rapid blood alcohol detoxification.” court listener However, the company behind Safety Shot, GBB Drink Labs Inc (GBB) was created in June 2020 and was registered to Miklos Gulyas’s home address in Miami Florida. This calls into question the Company’s claims of a decade-long development.

This seemingly meager investment, averaging barely $100k annually over a supposed decade of development, raises doubts about the feasibility and authenticity of GBB’s grandiose claims.

Furthermore, GBB’s failed association with FSD Pharma, listed as HUGE on the Nasdaq, adds another layer of skepticism. Despite FSD Pharma having considered an acquisition, their following public statements expressed concerns about GBB’s understanding of the technology. GBB’s website boasts about the product’s efficacy being established through testing on test subjects, but FSD Pharma questions the lack of formal clinical validation. Moreover, GBB’s assertion that their patented formula accelerates the conversion of alcohol into sugar contradicts established scientific knowledge about alcohol metabolism. FSD Pharma eventually backed away from the acquisition, citing GBB’s failure to meet expectations, a lack of provided information, and attempts by GBB to alter the proposed deal structure. These factors collectively contribute to a narrative that challenges the credibility of GBB Drink Labs and their flagship product, Safety Shot.

source: Business Wire

Unsurprisingly, GBB filed a lawsuit against FSD alleging a material breach of a mutual nondisclosure agreement and trade secret misappropriation. FSD categorically denies all allegations.

By now whoever is reading this is probably thinking, yep their drink is probably a scam, but can it get worse than that? Yes, it can get much worse. The next two sections document the dirtbags who are behind this fraudulent enterprise.

Links to Stratton Oakmont

Brian John, the CEO of Safety Shot, and Richard Miller, former Chief Compliance Officer for Safety Shot and Chairman of the Board at SRM Entertainment, used to work together at Stratton Oakmont. For the uninitiated, Stratton Oakmont was a notorious boiler room that defrauded investors and was depicted in the movie “The Wolf of Wall Street”. Stratton was eventually barred by FINRA and many Stratton employees ended up in prison. The two Stratton alumni at Safety Shot Inc have been embroiled in a legal dispute with Robert Koch, another ex-Stratton dirtbag (FINRA BrokerCheck report) who pleaded guilty to felony securities fraud. DOJ PR

In the lawsuit, Koch alleges that Brian John and Jupiter Wellness (now Safety Shot) were wrongly enriched by his efforts in building and expanding Jupiter Wellness. Furthermore, Koch claims that they had multiple verbal agreements for consulting services provided to Caro Capital’s clients between April 2015 and July 2018. Koch is seeking compensation for these services.

The connection to Stratton Oakmont, infamous for its pump-and-dump schemes, raises concerns about the ethical and operational foundations of Safety Shot’s leadership. The lawsuit and the association with individuals linked to fraudulent activities at Stratton Oakmont suggest potential continuity in their approach, prompting scrutiny regarding the company’s commitment to ethical business practices. SHOT’s management has shown little regard for the interests of investors, and we believe they are unfit to run a publicly listed company.

Management

Brian John, Safety Shot CEO

Brian John cut his teeth working at Stratton Oakmont and after that, court records indicate that he had a difficult time finding success through honest endeavors.

John was recently sued for not paying his credit card debt and an order was issued to Jupiter Wellness to garnish his wages. He was CEO at that time.

JPMorgan foreclosed on his house.

John has had three federal tax liens filed against him:

• 2011: $129,579.16
• 2012: $47,797.62
• 2013: $87,621.06

He was also sued by American Express and was ordered to pay $24,308.14.

John claims to run a “highly successful financial consulting firm” with his Stratton buddy Richard Miller. However, when John filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy in Aug. 2015, he claimed his 50% interest in the firm was worth $23k. However, his creditors determined his interest had “zero value for the bankruptcy estate”.

source: https://safetyshotholdings.com/company/management/

source: US Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of FL (case #15-24036-PGH)

John clearly didn’t learn his lesson after filing for bankruptcy against debts to dozens of creditors. He continued to rack up debts that he was unable to fulfill.

John was also involved in shady business dealings. John and his close associate Richard Miller started Simpleons, Inc. They paid a company to create SEC filings with the goal of taking the company public. The company they hired completed and delivered the filings but Simpleons never paid and ended up filing suit against Simpleons for payment. Determined not to pay, John, who was party to the lawsuit, resigned from Simpleons stonewalling the lawsuit. They later sold the Simpleons shell to another company who wanted the public listing.

We believe John’s behavior shows a clear pattern of financial malfeasance. He repeatedly puts his interests above those he does business with and has demonstrated little regard for the financial interests of others.

Given his history, we believe John is unfit to run a lemonade stand, let alone a multi-million dollar public company.

Glynn Wilson, Safety Shot CSO

Dr. Glynn Wilson’s track record as a leader doesn’t exactly shine. He’s been at Safety Shot since 2018, and in April 2021, he snagged the Chief Scientific Officer title. But let’s rewind a bit to his time at Tapimmune (now Marker Therapeutics and listed as MRKR). Despite being a big shot there from 2005 to 2018 (CEO from 2009 through 2017), as of the last 10-K with Wilson a CEO, they ended up with “no approved products or products pending approval”. As such, their 10-Ks spilled the tea – they survived on financing, not business success.

source: MRKR 10-K FY 2017

And here’s the real kicker: Tapimmune loved a bit of stock promotion. They danced with Anthony Di Stefano, a stock promo wizard from JV Public Relations, and got cozy with Neurotrope, a sketchy OTC creation by Michael Silverman and Adam Gottbetter, a lawyer who did time for stock fraud [Bloomberg].

Like a bad sequel, Tapimmune got a boost from Di Stefano’s bullish coverage, which was then broadcasted far and wide by paid press releases tied to JV Public Relations. To top it off, they even used Michael Silverman’s Katalyst Securities to raise money [Subscription Agreement]. And the links don’t stop there – Joshua Silverman who was under SEC investigation for his role in the imploded stock promotion MGT Capital, is also the guy behind Iroquois Capital, which filed 13Gs for both Tapimmune and Neurotrope. It’s a tangled web, and with Dr. Glynn Wilson at the helm, we believe Safety Shot is headed to a similar fate.

Tapimmune (now MRKR) is down over 99% from its inception:

Markita Russell, Safety Shot CFO

Markita Russell is Safety Shot’s CFO and as such the company’s success depends on her financial diligence.

We were surprised to see not one but two lawsuits filed against Russell for unpaid debts. Court filings indicate that she has dodged being served leading to the cases being dismissed without prejudice, meaning the lawsuits can be filed again. There is no indication that the debts have been paid.

If a CFO can’t manage their personal finances, how are they qualified to manage the finances of a $200mm company?

source: Broward County Case Numbers COWE08006491 and COWE08016794

Miklos Gulyas, Safety Shot Director and GBB Drink Labs Co-Founder

Miklos Gulyas, co-founder of GBB drink labs, has some serious red flags and a history of trying to defraud. Gulyas was sued for failing to pay Florida State and County Sales tax on a luxury vehicle he purchased from F10 Motorsports. Gulyas also attempted to defraud the dealership by misrepresenting a trade-in. He claimed it was never in an accident when it had. In fact, the car was in an accident after he agreed to trade it in, but before he had delivered it to the dealership. He lied to the dealership and claimed it was in the shop for routine maintenance. To make matters worse, the dealership had actually helped Gulyas during Hurricane Dorian by letting him store his fleet of vans in their warehouse. Gulyas returned the favor by attempting to defraud the dealership and when that failed he dodged them for months to avoid paying the sales tax he owed, forcing them to take him to court. Unsurprisingly, the court found in favor of the dealership.

SMS message sent from F10 Motorsports to Gulyas:

To make matters worse, Gulyas was later sued for $30k by the driver of the vehicle struck by his Porsche. The case was settled out of court.

Gulyas also leased a space for a pizza shop in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and quickly fell behind in payments. In January 2023, the landlord filed suit for $65,050 and to evict the tenant.

source: CH RETAIL FUND I FT. LAUDERDALE UNIVERSAL PLAZA LL Plaintiff vs. ILLEGAL PIZZA LAUDERHILL LLC, et al Defendant; Complaint

As another example of Gulyas’s financial acumen, his condo was foreclosed on because he was unable or unwilling to pay $518,442.24.

Gulyas was involved in more shady dealings, but you get the point. It’s clear what type of character he is.

Jarrett Boon, Safety Shot COO and GBB Drink Labs Co-Founder

Jarrett Boon is also a co-founder of GBB Drink Labs.

In his Safety Shot bio, Jarrett Boon claims that SW Promotions, a resort marketing and advertising company founded and led by Boon, had 400 employees and was acquired by a publicly traded company. However, the evidence indicates that this is a blatant lie. Throughout SW’s existence, the company’s official address was Boon’s personal residence. Furthermore, Boon was the sole shareholder, the sole officer, and the sole board member in all the company’s annual filings with the state. We can also find no record of the company employing anyone besides Boon. Other than Boon, there isn’t a single person on LinkedIn claiming to have worked at SW. Not one of the 400 people he claims to have employed.

SW Promotions doesn’t appear to be the shining success story Boon claims it to be. In fact, for the first three years of its existence, it wasn’t even a company. It was a DBA that Boon filed for the name Southwest Promotions.

While Boon claims SW Promotions was a wild success with 400 employees, court records paint a different picture. One customer, “Otior LC” even filed for a restraining order against Jarrett Boon.

Boon also claims that he was “one of the original thought leaders and investors in LifeLock”. We have found no evidence to support these claims. We did find that Boon was a racecar driver and LifeLock was one of his sponsors. It’s strange that he doesn’t mention his racing career in any of his bios. Perhaps this is the extent of his relationship with LifeLock.

Boon’s claims of professional success doesn’t sync with his financial situation. While operating S.W. Promotions, Boon failed to pay his federal income taxes and the IRS placed a federal tax lien against him for $41,697.44.

Stock Promotion

If anyone has been following our previous short reports, you will know we have an eye for companies engaging in heavy promotion to attract naive investors. Safety Shot, the subject of our scrutiny this time, follows a similar path as other companies we’ve investigated such as KSCP, which has seen a staggering 70% decline since our report. Safety Shot’s promotional practices align with our concerns surrounding companies that heavily market their stocks to lure in investors who might not have the full picture.

SecretAlerts.com Stock Pumper Service

Safety Shot pays 3rd parties like Secret Alerts, leveraging mass spam through emails, text messages, group chats, etc.

source: secretalerts.com; archived 2023-11-27

SNN Inc, AKA Planet MicroCap

Prior to changing their name to Safety Shot, the company was called Jupiter Wellness. Jupiter Wellness paid SNN Inc, aka Planet MicroCap to promote their stock to retail investors. Planet MicroCap is repeat promoter of notorious stock frauds including Tingo Group (TIO) and FingerMotion (FNGR).

Nasdaq Picks

Nasdaqpicks.com claims to be

…paid advertisers, also known as stock touts or stock promoters, who disseminate favorable information (this “Article”) about publicly traded companies (the “Profiled Issuers”).

…

This group, has or expects to be paid up to $150,000 USD for this campaign, …

The main source of traffic to the Nasdaqpicks website appears to be from Google ads which promote Safety Shot and link directly to their webpage pumping the company’s stock. This is a common tactic for stock promoters who target unsophisticated retail investors.

Business Dealings

Safety Shot’s business trajectory raises concerns about its strategic vision and commitment to shareholder value. The acquisition of SRM Entertainment, a toy and souvenir designer, seems disconnected from Safety Shot’s original focus on healthcare with CBD products. This shift, coupled with a move into alcohol and merchandise, indicates a lack of a coherent business plan.

The company’s foray into a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) suggests a tendency to follow trends rather than adhere to a well-defined and sustainable strategy. Safety Shot’s abrupt shifts in focus and ventures into unrelated industries signal potential opportunism rather than a long-term vision for value creation.

Furthermore, SRM was acquired from Vinco Ventures (BBIG) which raises red flags about the companies Safety Shot chooses to do business with. Vinco Ventures, formerly listed on Nasdaq under the symbol BBIG, underwent a sudden delisting on July 28th, without any prior notice to public shareholders. This abrupt delisting likely followed multiple unanswered delisting notices, reflecting a lack of transparency and responsiveness.

Prior to the delisting, BBIG had decided to cease reporting earnings abruptly, and key directors began departing from the company. The company is now entangled in lawsuits, and within a day of delisting to the OTC marketplace, BBIG experienced a downgrade to the expert market, where it recently traded at $0.0003, for all intents and purposes it is $0.

Safety Shot’s de-SPAC, Chijet, currently trades at $1.68, down 83.2% from its merger.

Looking at their past performance, Safety Shot’s management is clearly very skilled at destroying shareholder value.

Dilution

With a >$180 million market cap as of yesterday’s close, Safety Shot seems to be riding high on the stock market despite its main product, a yet-to-launch alcohol detox drink, being marred by fraud concerns. The company’s valuation appears inflated, and thus we believe dilution is to come.

During its relatively short period as a publicly traded company, Safety Shot has engaged in a notable pattern of dilution, involving two convertible notes and two offerings. This history of dilution raises concerns among investors about the potential impact on the value of existing shares and the company’s financial strategies. Furthermore, with over 9 million warrants awaiting exercise, notes that haven’t been paid off, the company appears positioned for additional dilution. But there’s more, there are even earn out payments to incentivize warrants being exercised: “in the event that during the Earn-Out Period, the Company receives cash proceeds of at least $11,000,000 from exercises of the Company’s $1.00 Warrants at an exercise price of $1.00 per Common Share (“Milestone 1”), the Company shall pay to the Seller $2,500,000 payable in cash;”

source: 8-K

The recent surge in stock price and volume provides an opportune environment for Safety Shot to pursue further dilution, with $95 million remaining within Shelf facility. Investors are advised to stay vigilant and consider the potential consequences of ongoing dilution on the company’s financial health and shareholder value.

Summary

Safety Shot is a dubious venture, with a history tainted by deceit, erratic business decisions, and ties to questionable entities. The company’s peddling of a fake alcohol detox drink makes it an obvious target for regulators, be it the FDA, FTC, SEC, or various states Attorney Generals.

Leadership’s history with notorious firms like Stratton Oakmont, raises serious ethical concerns. This is on top of numerous legal troubles, financial instability, and a penchant for promotional tactics reminiscent of previous stock frauds.

The claims of a miraculous drink to lower BAC levels and revolutionize the beverage industry appear nothing short of a deceptive ploy to defraud investors and consumers. This is especially evident given the company’s sketchy past and its leaders’ questionable track records.

The company’s murky history and alarming red flags cast doubt over its credibility and legitimacy, painting a compelling picture of a scam in the making.

• Safety Shot
• SHOT
• Jupiter Wellness
• JUPW
• SRM Entertainment
• SRM
• Stratton Oakmont
• Vinco Ventures
• BBIG