Sharks think lawsuit is fishy

THE sharks are biting back.

Kevin O’Leary and Kevin Harrington of ABC’s “Shark Tank” have been sued by 20 aspiring entrepreneurs who claim they’ve been scammed by the businessmen. But O’Leary told us that someone stole his identity and used it to defraud the alleged victims, reports Francesca Bacardi on PageSix.com.

Legal documents claim O’Leary and Harrington used a “predatory fraud scheme” to have their alleged victims hire one of two businesses called InventureX or Ideazon as consultants.

They claim that they were manipulated and defrauded through the alleged use of “fictional executives, false promises of financial success and even illusions of being on the show ‘Shark Tank’ itself.”

The wannabe businesspeople claim they were promised they’d receive help for crowdfunding once they hired either company, but after paying up, they allegedly never received the assistance.

But O’Leary exclusively told us via his attorney that he believes someone has stolen his identity — and that’s the cause of the confusion. “It appears that someone has been using my name and likeness without my knowledge, permission or consent,” O’Leary, 67, said. “I’ve never heard of any of these purported companies and have never conducted business with any of the plaintiffs who filed this suit.”

Meanwhile, Harrington, 64, copped to being involved in a promotional video for InventureX but denied any involvement with the company beyond that.

“It has come to our attention that Kevin Harrington has been accused of various false allegations regarding a recent lawsuit,” Harrington’s attorney told Page Six. “Kevin has been a proponent of entrepreneurs globally. Kevin never had any business arrangement or contract with any of the Plaintiffs. This should be a dispute between the Plaintiffs and InventureX. Kevin simply did a video for this Company.”