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Key Developments

• Federal magistrate admonishes Jack Owoc for including at least 11 fabricated case citations in court filings
• Monster Energy argues monetary sanctions are insufficient, seeks pre-filing injunction already imposed against Owoc in bankruptcy court
• Ruling could signal new precedent on AI misuse in legal documents, with implications for attorneys and pro se litigants

By Samuel Lopez — USA Herald

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL - In a case that underscores the high-stakes consequences of corporate collapse and courtroom strategy, Monster Energy Company has fired back against Bang Energy founder Jack Owoc, who is now attempting to represent himself in litigation tied to the company’s bankruptcy and trademark disputes.

Owoc, ousted from Vital Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the parent company of Bang), stunned observers by filing a pro se motion in federal court that was riddled with fake citations.

📌 Where the Fake Citations Are in Owoc’s Motion

In Owoc’s June 24, 2025 motion, he cited multiple cases that either do not exist or are misrepresented. These appear in the following places:

• Page 3, Paragraph beginning with “The One Satisfaction Rule…”
  Owoc cites Mickens v. Tenth Judicial Circuit, 181 So. 3d 1231 (Fla. 2d DCA 2015)— this case does not exist.
• Page 8, Paragraph under Section E “Theft by Litigation”
  Owoc cites Buci v. Village of Lincolnwood— this case does not exist.
• Page 19, Section N “California and Florida Set-Off Principles”
  Owoc cites several nonexistent cases:
  • Buczkowski v. McKay, 490 So. 2d 1282 (Fla. 1986)(doesn’t exist)
  • Cunningham v. Haroona, 741 So. 2d 603 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1999)(doesn’t exist)
  • Boulos v. Morrison, 880 So. 2d 246 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2004)(doesn’t exist)

So Owoc’s motion contains at least five fake citations across three sections (pp. 3, 8, and 19).

📌 How Monster Responded

Monster’s opposition filing (July 8, 2025) explicitly called out these hallucinated citations:

Monster noted that Owoc cited a “series of cases that do not appear to exist” and listed them directly:

• Mickens v. Tenth Judicial Circuit (Fla. 2d DCA 2015)
• Buci v. Village of Lincolnwood
• Buczkowski v. McKay (Fla. 1986)
• Cunningham v. Haroona (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1999)
• Boulos v. Morrison (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2004)

Monster also pointed out that courts in Florida have sanctioned parties for submitting hallucinated citations before (citing Versant Funding LLC v. Teras Breakbulk Ocean Navigation Enters., LLC, 2025 WL 1440351 (S.D. Fla. May 20, 2025)).