Between December 2020 and April 2021, the value of Labor Smart Inc.’s (“LTNC”) stock rose nearly 35,000%. The primary product marketed by LTNC is NXT LVL’s “hydrogen water,”  which they claim provides improved energy, immunity, cognition, recovery, and well-being (these claims have not been independently confirmed). Multiple retail investors have pointed to former Aterian CEO Ryan Schadel as having been involved in similar schemes in the past. By September 2021, LTNC stock had returned to near-2020 levels. 

LTNC and NXT LVL have undertaken a substantial marketing effort on social media, and are the subject of several Twitter posts each day under the hashtags #LTNC, #NXTLVL, and #NVTLVLNation, some of which appear to be paid advertising. 

A similar securities class action lawsuit was filed in 2020 against Genius Brands, alleging that stockholders were harmed financially by the company’s misstatements and a resulting drop in the stock price, which some investors and executives were able to beat by selling their shares. Another “pump and dump” class action lawsuit was filed against Vaxart, Inc. in 2020, alleging that they used “false and misleading” advertisements to artificially inflate the stock price.