FDD Items 3 & 4 · 2023 filing
Bitcoin STEM litigation history
What Bitcoin STEM disclosed about lawsuits, arbitrations and bankruptcy in the 2023 Franchise Disclosure Document. Item 3 lists the material legal actions a franchisor must report; Item 4 covers bankruptcy. This is the franchisor's own disclosure, not a court record, and not legal advice.
Items 3 & 4 at a glance
What the filing discloses
- Cases disclosed
- 0
- Item 3, as counted in the filing
- Largest disclosed settlement
- N/A
- Bankruptcy (Item 4)
- Disclosed
- Franchisor, parent, predecessor or officer
- Filing year
- 2023
- Disclosures cover the prior ten years
Extracted from the 2023 Franchise Disclosure Document
Item 3: litigation
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this disclosure document.
Disclosed in the 2023 Franchise Disclosure Document
Item 4: bankruptcy
CEO Zachary Shelton filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in 2014. Granted discharge of certain debts on May 10, 2014, by US Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Virginia (case 14-10444-BFK).
Disclosure signals that moved the score
How this shows up in the verdict
- Going concern status suggests financial instability at franchisor level despite operating franchise model
- No litigation disclosure required language suggests either new brand with minimal franchise history or franchisor avoiding disclosure obligations
The verdict grade is FranchiseVerdict's editorial assessment across SBA loan performance, unit growth, revenue and disclosure signals. It is not investment advice.
Before you weigh a lawsuit
How to read Item 3
A franchisor must disclose pending actions and any material civil action involving the franchise relationship, plus convictions or civil judgments for fraud, unfair or deceptive practices, or franchise-law violations, going back ten years. A case the franchisor brought against a franchisee counts too. Item 3 does not include every dispute: settled claims below the materiality line and matters resolved in private arbitration can be absent.
Questions worth asking current and former franchisees, using the contact list in Item 20:
- Were you, or anyone you know in the system, party to a dispute with the franchisor?
- Was it resolved by settlement, arbitration or a court, and on what terms?
- Has the number of disputes gone up or down since you signed?