Nowadays, there are many online gurus who teach a bunch of different things through their online courses, while a decent percentage of them are legitimate, a bunch of them are phony, too. And we usually see big actions or backlash against these influences, too. But regarding this Shelby Sapp Lawsuit, there are actually mixed reactions out there, and if you don’t know much about this lawsuit yet, well, just keep on reading to find out what really is going on with Shelby Sapp lately.
So, Who Exactly Is Shelby Sapp?
Firstly, Shelby Sapp is a known sales influencer who has a huge social media presence; she has almost 900,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 500,000 on TikTok. She operates a program called She Sells Academy, promoting herself as the “#1 female sales trainer.”
Shelby typically sells a single course for around $3,000, and her main target audience is women to whom she teaches the technique of getting remote sales jobs and creating a career outside the traditional 9-to-5. Although the idea sounds great, some have doubted her account of the sales experience in the remote sales field prior to launching the program, and this is the point at which the debate begins.
The Lawsuit That’s Making Headlines
On September 12, 2024, a person named Gueorgui Stoitzev (we will refer to him as George) took legal action against Shelby in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It is not just about a small disagreement, like the complaint mentions more than $10 million.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiff refers not only to the defendant but also to her company, She Sells Academy LLC, and an unnamed individual, Blake Rocha, who is just as much an issue as the plaintiff.
George asserts that it was Shelby who betrayed him when they were co-business owners. As per him, she went against the agreements, brazenly took other business opportunities, and made them suffer economically to a significant extent.
They worked in this way through their partnership:
- Shelby leveraged her social media fame to attract clients.
- George took care of the administration and the business side of things.
The model was producing great results. Ten women signed up for their program within three months. Unfortunately, Shelby is said to have become one of Blake Rocha’s, an Airbnb influencer, and started a new business named Girl Sales Boss without informing George.
Things got out of hand very fast. On August 18, 2024, Shelby phoned George and informed him that she was terminating their partnership. The following day, she started She Sells Remote, a rival business, only 30 hours after the call.
The Financial Impact
The initial webinar that Shelby put together for She Sells Remote was said to have had 30,000 participants, and as a result, more than $1 million in sales were made. George states that according to their previous understanding, he is therefore the recipient of 50% of the income from these projects. If that is the case, then the legal action may potentially be a sum of over $10 million in compensation.
What’s Happening in Court Right Now?
Here’s the timeline so far:
- September 2024: George filed the initial complaint.
- October 2024: Shelby’s side requested more time.
- November 2024: Shelby’s team attempted to have the case dismissed.
- December 2024: George filed an emergency motion for injunctive relief.
- January 2025 onward: Multiple amended complaints and responses have been filed.
Shelby’s main argument is that there was never a formal partnership. However, George refers to an email from Shelby in which she mentioned that she was “I’m terminating my ownership with Girl Sales Boss and my former business partner completely and instantly.” Probably, this phrase is going to be one of the most important tokens of evidence.
