Tagged: fraud

December 6, 2015 @ 11:48 am By JD Alois  |  

The SEC filed charges against two Bitcoin mining operations last week accusing the founder of launching a Ponzi scheme to defraud investors lured in by get rich quick claims. Homero Joshua Garza operated two Bitcoin companies, GAW Miners and ZenMiner.  The Connecticut-based scam paid early… Read More

December 2, 2015 @ 8:00 am By JD Alois  |  

During the buildup to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s announcement regarding the final rules on Title III retail crowdfunding, the Commission filed a fraud case in the US District Court of Nevada.  The SEC accused Ascenergy, a company ostensibly in the oil and gas industry,… Read More

November 18, 2015 @ 10:30 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

  Back in December 2014, British company Torquing Group took to Kickstarter with a mission to raise funds for its new nano “smart” drone, Zano. The project was met with backer enthusiasm and excitement as it secured a grand total of £2,335,119 ($3,550,665.20 USD). The Zano… Read More

November 17, 2015 @ 2:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

The SEC has filed fraud charges against alleged perpetrators of a $78 million pump & dump scheme involving shares of Marley Coffee.  The company, Jammin Java, was marketed using the trademarks of reggae performer Bob Marley. In a release by the SEC, officials stated that… Read More

November 14, 2015 @ 10:35 am By JD Alois  |  

Joanna Leigh from Boston has admitted to scamming almost $40,000 following the wake of the Boston Marathon Bombing tragedy. Leigh pleaded guilty to all charges after previously denying she had committed fraud.  Leigh took money from a variety of sources including the One Fund Boston,… Read More

November 6, 2015 @ 10:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed charges against alleged rogue trader James Alan Craig of Dunragit, Scotland.  Apparently Craig was a bit cocky too, as he tweeted that the SEC would not be able to track him down.  The SEC has used their own Twitter… Read More

November 2, 2015 @ 4:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Lost in all of the excitement of last weeks’ announcement from the SEC on Title III crowdfunding rules was a case of crowdfunding fraud.  According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the agency halted a “fraudulent oil and gas crowdfunding scheme”.  The SEC has frozen… Read More

October 18, 2015 @ 5:09 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of Treasury, via its FinCen or Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, is ringing warning bells when it comes to rewards based crowdfunding. FinCen notes a rise in “suspicious activity reports” (SARs). In a report published this past week, FinCen spotlighted rewards based crowdfunding… Read More

October 14, 2015 @ 9:21 am By JD Alois  |  

Scandalous news hit the peer to peer lending world this week as TrustBuddy revealed allegations of serious misconduct.  The malfeasance was deemed so severe that Swedish authorities immediately shut down the direct lending operation and Swedish Police were contacted to investigate if criminal activity has… Read More

October 13, 2015 @ 9:33 am By JD Alois  |  

In an unsettling about face TrustBuddy, a peer to peer lending platform based in Stockholm, has shut down.  The home page has transitioned from lending platform into a public statement (republished below) in both Swedish and English explaining a series of alleged misconduct; “An investigation… Read More

August 2, 2015 @ 4:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

Back in May of 2014, Crowdfund Insider reported on the first state Attorney General to file suit against a rewards based crowdfunding campaign that had failed to deliver on its crowdfunding promise. This was no big, multi-million dollar crowdfunding project either. It was for a… Read More

July 17, 2015 @ 11:29 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

As more and more companies are turning to crowdfunding for extra funds, Indiegogo’s CEO Slava Rubin is encouraging everyone with a project idea to use the global platform. During a recent interview with MarketWatch, Rubin stated that he, along with the rest of the Indiegogo crew,… Read More

June 24, 2015 @ 11:32 pm By Midori Yoshimura  |  

China’s crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending markets have frequently featured in the news, as China seeks to decrease fraud in its rapidly expanding Internet finance world. Now, Beijing’s financial supervision agencies are using big data to crack down on illegal fundraising, with an online pre-warning platform already… Read More

June 24, 2015 @ 6:32 pm By JD Alois  |  

The SEC has charged Gregg R. Mulholland of secretly accumulating “at least” 84% of shares in Vision Plasma Systems.  Once Mulholland effectively controlled the company, he liquidated shares for proceeds of approximately $21 million.  The SEC states that no registration statement was filed on the… Read More

May 14, 2015 @ 6:42 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Last month, Netherlands-based studio 2Awesome Studio took to famous crowdfunding platform Kickstarter with a mission to raise €30,000 for its new video game Dimension Drive.  The game was described as comic book-styled space adventure set in a multidimensional universe. It features a teleportation mechanic that allows you to fight on two… Read More

May 12, 2015 @ 3:54 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

New Australian-based modular Android smartphone Fonkraft seemed to have it all, it was perfect for the every day tech savvy person. Its “Pilot” model was an entry-level/basic and was priced at a reasonable $100. It features a 5-inch, 720p display, a dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM, plus… Read More

April 30, 2015 @ 9:50 pm By JD Alois  |  

Agency 2.0, the jilted firm that made it possible for the Sondors eBike to become the 2nd most funded campaign ever on Indiegogo, has just distributed legal documents to the media that share insightful details into the unseemly battle with Ivars Sondors.  In a brief missive… Read More

April 28, 2015 @ 11:45 pm By JD Alois  |  

Indiegogo’s second most-funded campaign of all time has taken more twists and turns than one could imagine. From improbable crowdfunding mega-hit, delivered by a Californian surfer, to questions, controversy and accusations of contractual fraud.  Perhaps it is time for a touch of disbelief. The Storm eBike, quickly… Read More

April 20, 2015 @ 9:40 am By JD Alois  |  

Chris Olenik, founder of Agency 2.0 a well known marketing firm in the crowdfunding industry, has responded to the revelation that relationships have frayed between Storm Sondors and his firm. Agency 2.0 filed a “contractual fraud” lawsuit on April 9th and now Olenik has clarified… Read More

April 17, 2015 @ 5:15 pm By JD Alois  |  

Second Most Funded Campaign on Indiegogo Hit with Legal Challenge of “Contractual Fraud”. Last week in the Superior Court of California in Santa Monica, Agency 2.0 filed a contractual fraud suit against Pacific Storm, Inc, apparently the corporate entity behind the Sondors eBike crowdfunding campaign.  The listed… Read More