Corporate Control Fight Rocks Ondo Finance

A bitter corporate control fight has erupted at Ondo Finance, a tokenized real-world asset issuer, following the death of its founder Nathan Allman. His mother, Kathleen Allman, is seeking to oust CEO Ian De Bode, who she claims improperly attempted to seize control of the company during probate proceedings.

The dispute centers on the period after Allman's death in May. According to the complaint, Nathan Allman died as Ondo's CEO, sole director, and controlling shareholder, but his voting power became part of his estate, meaning it couldn't be exercised until his mother was formally appointed personal representative through Hawaii probate proceedings on June 26.

The estate alleges that before probate concluded, De Bode wrongly claimed he automatically became CEO under Ondo's bylaws, elected himself as the company's sole director through a voting agreement, and began taking corporate actions. The complaint argues that the bylaws required board action to fill the CEO vacancy, making those actions invalid.

Kathleen Allman initially sought a cooperative transition rather than immediately removing De Bode, but the situation escalated after De Bode and the company's outside counsel refused to recognize her actions or provide the requested corporate records. She subsequently expanded the board, appointed new directors, and voted to remove De Bode from all company positions while appointing herself chair and interim CEO.

The estate is seeking an expedited ruling because uncertainty over who controls the company could affect contracts, expenditures, equity issuances, and other corporate decisions. The court has not ruled on the allegations, and the filings reflect only the estate's version of events.