![]() It doesn’t matter where the people are, all that matters is where we can have the greatest impact.” HBI now refers to its philanthropic efforts as Raw Giving. In short, we save and improve the most number of lives possible with the resources we have. ![]() Before the Raw Foundation was taken offline in 2021, its website described the work they do: “We run the foundation using what Josh calls Entrepreneurial Philanthropy. When asked which deadly virus he had contracted 25 years ago and whether he was still battling it, Kesselman now claims he was never actually sick with a terminal illness.įorbes independently confirmed that Kesselman has donated to at least two of the charities he has touted but was unable to verify his claim of $2.5 million in total giving. In a statement, the company explained that it “may have created the impression that we ourselves were a charity. There is, however, no nonprofit listed with that name, according to a public database for registered 501 (c) (3)s, and HBI agreed to stop advertising its foundation. One of the most bizarre revelations to come out in the lawsuit is that HBI had been championing its charitable organization known as the Raw Foundation. “He is very good at training himself-if you tell the story enough times in your head, you’re going to believe it and it'll become the truth in your mind.” “ pretty much a pathological liar,” the ex-employee says. sales) rolling paper market.Ī longtime former employee, who declines to use his name for fear of retribution, says he ended up leaving HBI because of Kesselman’s habit of bending the truth. Through the litigation, a clear picture has emerged of Kesselman and Raw relying on deceitful claims and aggressive hucksterism to solidify its position in the competitive nearly $1 billion (estimated U.S. The jury, however, sided with HBI’s counterclaim that Republic, founded by Chicago-based entrepreneur Donald Levin, infringed on one of its copyrights and trade dress, awarding HBI just over $1 million in lost profits and statutory damages. ![]() ![]() During the trial, a jury found that HBI engaged in unfair competition and violated the Illinois Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act through its packaging and promotional activities. Over the last seven years, Kesselman has been defending his company in a protracted legal battle waged by Illinois-based Republic Technologies. But along with Kesselman’s success story, there is also a pattern of telling tall tales. Over three decades, Kesselman has built a $200 million (estimated annual global sales) empire through Raw and a suite of other brands under his Arizona-based HBI International and its overseas arm. The New York Giants play football in New Jersey, right? Yet they are still called the New York Giants and are known as a New York City sports team.” “In the past, I have referred to the region as Alcoy,” he wrote to Forbes through his crisis PR and legal team. When asked why he lied about where Raw is made, Kesselman brushed it off as an honest mistake. Sparkling white wine produced 15 minutes outside of the Champagne region cannot be called champagne. But Alcoy, where famed rolling paper brand Bambú was first made, was so important to Kesselman’s origin story that Raw’s packaging advertised until very recently: “Made in Alcoy, Spain, the birthplace of rolling paper.” The Iberpapel factory, however, is still a 15-minute drive from Alcoy-close, but no rolled cigarette.
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