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Well seems just now that BFL was raided and shut down by US Marsalls...add details here as this story happens...hope
it is not FUD ..BFL should have been shut down 1 year ago imho

here are the links (so far) feel free to add other links as they appear

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=150803.msg8891220#msg8891220


and

http://cryptogeeks.com/bitcoin-butterfly-labs-bfl-raided-us-marshals-today


anyway not sure if this is true yet...we will know soon I guess

edit: if this all is FUD I will delete this thread ..feel free to post any info you deem correct on this whole possiblity

Interesting if so.  But, you can delete that second link because it just links back to your first one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n7qhZ-780g  :D

I really hope this is true.

I'm surprised such a scummy, dishonest company was aloud to do business as long as they were.

yeah put up the 2nd link in the hope it would get filled in by that bitcoin news service....

still no idea if this is FUD or not...

I see OgNasty has posted on BFL forums:  https://forums.butterflylabs.com/the-monarch-discussion/8831-raided-us-marshals.html

No response yet........probably get deleted soon anyways......

http://coinfire.cf/2014/09/19/developing-story-usms-ftc-raid-butterfly-labs/


yeah it is starting to look like a false rumor...damn it.....frigging BFL is like jello.....slimy buggers probably will never
have problem with that law on the crap they pulled

again will pull this thread or whatever if it is just a rumor

It would be interesting if it is Marshalls. IF this was based on wire fraud, it would be the FBI there unless there was some other crime committed that falls under the marshals. Exciting if they got raiding. Means the govt actually is taking action to deal with this. Hopefully other US "vendors" are on notice, I for one am hoping for an AMT and Josh Zipkin take down next.

If this is true, I wonder what will happen to all their equipment and their cloud mining scheme? Hopefully, it will be used to compensate those of us that got royally fucked. (which is the grand majority)

I can only confirm that the original source is extremely reliable, not one to spread FUD, and, BTW, it wasn't I who leaked the info. His (is a guy, is all I'm saying) sources were probably just as reliable, being friends of his, and hopefully later learn are/were moles at Camp BFL.

Let's hope these are Josh's famous last words to be framed for eternity: https://forums.butterflylabs.com/the-monarch-discussion/8782-monarch-software-installation-4.html#post86091

http://s27.postimg.org/51bl7epgz/JZ_last_words_at_BFL.jpg

"Mr. Zerlan, please log off from Minecraft, and slowing step away from your computer."

BFL did everyone dirty.  I am not sure how they have stayed in business this long ?  Who is buying BFL hardware directly from them ?  I doubt we have seen the last of BFL, they are like zombies in a horror movie, they just wont' die.  You can shoot them, light them on fire, but they just keep coming.....

Not much protecting us from BFL Zomies !
http://s22.postimg.org/r5ydr4wrh/BFL_Zombies.jpg (http://postimg.org/image/r5ydr4wrh/)

It seems the thread was deleted already "Invalid Thread specified. If you followed a valid link, please notify the administrator"

so there are two kind of ppl, those who got their monarhs and those who never will...  ::)

thread at the top of the post still seems to come up...although one is still just a title

Coinfire phoned the Marshals and FTC, no confirmations on the raid:
http://coinfire.cf/2014/09/19/developing-story-usms-ftc-raid-butterfly-labs/

Let me quote Inaba (Josh) on this matter from this thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=92268.msg1229652#msg1229652

"I repeat:  What the fuck are you talking about?  If you need to, please pay someone to translate your mad ramblings into English."

"Well there you go... it's not half the community and the only way it would "feel the same way you do" is if half of them lived in their parents basement and had an orange saq.

Go on, back up what you say.  I'll take anything.. give me one small fact that you have to back up anything you've said.

I predict from you: WAAAAAAAAA"

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=%22I+am+FURRY%2C+hear+me+squeak!%22 (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=%22I+am+FURRY%2C+hear+me+squeak!%22)

They likely won't either. Law enforcement seldom comments on ongoing investigations. EVEN if they did raid them, they would not tell anyone even the press...especially the press during the middle of the raid. At least not until they are ready to make a formal announcement. It would jeopardize all sorts of things in a prosecutors investigation. Being that there appear to be reliable leaks coming from this it did probably happen. Whether it was marshals or FBI (it seems more likely they would have as wire fraud is their area).

FYI basis for thinking the FBI did this and would make sense Marshals are not actually involved. http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/white_collar

I'm pretty sure the FTC is just doing some following up: http://www.coindesk.com/butterflylabs-customers-appeal-to-ftc-1-million-missing-orders/

Finally, BFL's forum is getting up to speed: https://forums.butterflylabs.com/bfl-forum-and-miscellaneous/8832-rumor-raid.html

Here's what I predict:

BFL, were you raided?

It wasn't a raid. We invited the FTC, US Marshals and the FBI to tour our plant to prove to them that we truly are the most trustworthy Bitcoin entity in the world. Later, we treated them to lunch, had a few laughs at the expense of them monumental assholes over at BCT, then they went on their merry way.

That's the good news. Now, the bad news. Due to shortage of parts...

Comedy Gold - LOL

Josh is such a raging dickhead.

Just one more to highlight what a swell person Josh is:

First time posted, but this is what Josh sent me on the 16th (the other day).

Looks like BFL took 'er down:

http://s7.postimg.org/7so3zzmfv/invalid_link_BFL.jpg

Josh Zerlan used up that one phone call from prison on calling his forum mod to delete the thread lol.

The general consensus is that Josh wasn't one of those forced inside to only see out. But, it's a safe assumption his name and the company he represents, Butterfly Labs (BFL), is trashed from this day forward.

I honestly can't envision a scenario where the doors are opened come Monday and everybody's working like today didn't happen. It's also probably a safe bet that some suppliers have yet to be paid, and won't want to ship more parts to an entity currently enjoying the wrong kind of limelight.

hey it may not have been the marshals or feds etc

It could simply be BFL is being served for debts/obligations etc...if that is the case ...imho that was the plan by BFL execs from the get go..have BFL the corp take the fall
on liability and losses as all the hardware etc was bought/moved to EMC and personal use..that is why you incorporate so the corporation takes the fall

I will be so pissed if BFL the corp takes the fall on this and the execs walk as was done by bankers in the banking crisis....personal wealth is untouched..the corp
takes the hit

crap just scared myself ...damn scammers may still be playing the system

Theoretically speaking BFL could be forced through Chapter 7, and that would mean retaining some (or even most) employees through the initial liquidation stage.

Are you suggesting they're insolvent? How or why would that happen if they're sitting on boatloads of cash.

if they were smart they have a 'loan' on an invoice from every piece of equip that went to EMC pool and personal stuff to BFL owners

alas BFL is bankrupt and they are just one of the creditors...ie the made BFL a shell corp moved the cash out...declare BFL kaput

keep personal assets EMC etc

viola!

leave BFL the corporation holding the bag on bankruptcy protect all their personal assets and EMC pool

anyway just speculating that it could have been a bankruptcy shut down rather then a criminal one

but then again WTF do I know I ordered from BFL .did get a refund thru more luck then skill....

Wrong play book! I say BFL will take the route that Laissez Faire City did and have Johann Gevers as the liquidator so that others that come after us, say ten years down the road, can come back here and quote this thread, wondering why nary a Monarch purchaser was never reimbursed from the "raid" forward, just like those Sonny Vleisides fleeced during his LFC reign have yet to see one cent of their investments, and I'm not talking about his lottery scheme, for those old farts will die waiting for whatever.

Besides, foregoing Chapter 7 worked out so well for HashFast, why should BFL pursue it when other great courses of actions are abound?

Looks like Josh's former EMC is about to take a hit as well, with miners exiting that wonderful pool.

http://www.offshorealert.com/forums.aspx?g=posts&t=37064


Not once did JG mention Sonny Vleisides' full name during the liquidation process, opting to always referring to him as the son of Jame Ray Houston, Sonny's real dad.

And, if you think that's funny, LFC had it's own Satoshi Nakamoto at the time: http://web.archive.org/web/20000301124449/http://zolatimes.com/V3.44/dmt1.html

Hell, they even their own version of Atlas.

http://s27.postimg.org/4e8jhfxrn/LFC.jpg

Yes, LFC was entirely built by Sonny Vleisides and his real dad, James Ray Houston, a.k.a. The Silver King (look it up). LFC came complete with its own internet money and uber-private email.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=781703.msg8864685#msg8864685

 

y'all copy cats? ^  lmao



;D

No, I'm not suggesting that they are insolvent. I however think that they aren't competitive and don't have much value as a going concern that will continue to release products for many years into the future. In particular I don't think that BFL can be sold to a 3rd party or subject to a management buyout.

If not Ch.7 then trusteeship followed by a regular liquidation. If they really sit on a boatload of cash then that surplus may forfeited or used to compensate past customers.

In any case I don't think all employees will be immediately laid-off and the premises cleaned by hazardous waste disposal contractors.

Care to take another stab at it if the following is true?

http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/2gvnhm/butterfly_labs_bfl_raided_by_us_marshals_today/cknd72z

Even if BFL is insolvent, and even if the government goes after them personally, it is highly likely that they snuck mining rigs out the back door and setup personal mining farms. Assuming they didn't convert the mined Bitcoins to FIAT any time soon, it would be near impossible to trace, no?

True or false? Im confused.  :-\

True that! It's not like BFL could've set up some other facility to produce miners using parts paid for from their investomers, then either sell or mine with said miners unbeknownst to anybody. For that to have happened, he would've had parts sent to a completely different location then BFL's current facility.

e.g.

http://www.importgenius.com/importers/bf-labs-inc


Okay, so China shipped to the wrong address. It's not like Sonny Vleisides lives there or anything.

http://radaris.com/~Sonny-Vleisides/292519188


Okay, okay, so obviously there's at least two Sonny Vleisides in the world, for surely this one wouldn't had received highly needed parts at the time at his residence, when shipping them to BFL's normal facility would have sufficed.

Ergo, since you offered up no proof, there probably was no second facility, nor did BFL sneak out miners through the back door, thus the government has made a grave error in busting BFL's balls.

I can't wait to suck Josh's dick to show him how sorry I am for ever doubting him... and lying.

I doubt very much that BFL is insolvent. I just received my bonus Monarch on Wednesday (shipped Monday). And I also received a BTC refund on Monday for the balance of my original order.

Hardly sounds like they aren't at least trying to ship and/or refund which you would expect if they were going out of business.

I'm just saying if they played the books correctly...any losses would be BFL losses...any xfer of equip or assets to EMC miner pool could be listed as
xfered but *unpaid* ..mine with them a bit ...give them back to BFL ....games could be played if they have legit reciepts for miners sold on the
inside....well if the paid for the miners even if they jumped the que as employees or investors by 6 months to a year...they could do that

then when it all goes to sh*t....BFL the corporation for bad loans or selling equip at cost to insiders/investors/employees way way before us
could claim they were independent

also all that pre-order money they are giving back ..my suspicion is a lot of it was used on the nimbus mining pool etc....they had a year
to hash with this pre-order money in various cloud mining operations...again if they bled it off the main company BFL....and they did it
correctly and BFL goes under (bankrupt) and takes the fall...all personal assets and other corp assets like EMC and hashing etc outside
of BFL would get washed....it would look slippery as hell...but with BFL they could claim a long track record of being 'stupid' rather then
criminal etc

ie like the bankers in the banking crisis...only 1 guy went to jail..and that is because he felt guilty....even thou all the actions of the bank
for a period of years ONLY  helped the individuals running it...not the bank that was insolvent

now truthfully I don't think the folks at BFL are this smart nor would their ego allow failure etc....BUT they could have pulled
(or tried) to pull something off like this..moving assets around on the claim of bad business decisions etc

just gives me the hebbie jebbies to think that such a plot ...(hey were stupid not crooks!) the line that our monarch product was SOOOOO
cutting edge ...oops we failed....and BFL takes the fall as a corporation on all the bad derisions (for the corp) ....but all the good results
go to EMC Pool ...the pre-order money mining for say 1 year on Nimbus and personal miners for themselves mining as they stalled for a
year with our pre-order money

if I was an Evil Genius..that is how I woulda played it internally for the last year with all that nice slushy.....pre-order cash and no refunds
and all the access to equip ahead of everyone else..either by purchase (with receipt to show bona fides later) or more risky as a 'testing purposes
loan"

anyway like I said they are likely just Evil and not Evil Genius's but hey ......just saying......In that even more of a puzzle then the above is
HOW the mangaged to not ship ANY product less then 9 months late since at least nov/dec 2012!

so in reflection of how long they have been doing this...the above fiction I just wrote on BFL Corp looks a little more real/scary imho

again I'm likely wrong just gives me the hebiee jeebies thinking about such a possible end game ...where the lose the battle over BFL
going bankrupt but win the war personally

again just hopefully telling nightmare stories here
 

BFL, KNC and Cointerra, all immoral businesses that keep the prebought hardware untill they made the most profit and only then sent it to their customers, or as a like to call them, victims.... That people still buy HW with them amazes me.

it wasn't an actual raid, but they didn't invite the FTC. those reportedly arrested didn't even show up for work. the officers came in, gathered the employees, an attorney for District Court explained what was happening, they were given papers to sign, asked a few questions, and then sent home with only their belongings.

given the nature of their investigations and a number of individual and class-action lawsuits that also point to violations of FTC guidelines, it's tough for me to imagine a recovery. Even if they went back to work, it would only be for a short time, and under different leadership. In effect, BFL is operated by the US government until the courts decide what to do with the company and its administration.

given the time-sensitive nature of the product, if things go as well as they can, the company will be liquidated, and anyone with a legitimate order who doesn't receive their product will receive at least a partial refund. perhaps they will open the warehouse to ship what units they have, and then auction off the chips. Any way it shakes down, it is going to be rough on the customers. i'm also convinced that the whole process is going to take a very long time, since the result of any of the upcoming court cases could have strong influences on the others.

on another note, just before I began this post, i checked to see if it was possible to order anything on BFL's website, and I was able to get to the last step without being shut down. i'm not sure what the really means with regard to what happened Friday. the US DID go to BFL HQ and shut it down. two people were taken into custody, but it was likely more like simply being processed and being put out on bail so you can flee. I doubt either actually spent time in a jail cell.The hard proof that this event took place will surface. who knows if the FTC will ultimately decide BFL is in compliance, doubtful, but who knows. but still, every day that BFL can ship their products, the stronger the FTC's case will actually become. If they are not forced out of business by legal means, i believe the combination of this incident, plus upcoming class-action suits, and likely some individual suits will drive them out of business.

Interesting thread, lol.

But what really makes my day... I'm finally done with all of this BFL madness and preorder bullshit! I don't have a single active order with anyone. I've finally received all of my preorders and now I don't have to worry, plan and find space/power for another piece of gear. I'll just sit and hash and watch my earnings decline to zero over the next month or two.

And then... BTC goodbye! I'll keep a few in my wallet just in case the price rises again but I won't be heartbroken and suicidal if it crashes. This is just too stressful although it's also been kind of fun too. But honestly not worth the stress anymore.   :P

Has anyone posted actual links to real news articles yet or is this just "news" from anonymous forum posts and reddit? Until then, it's all bullshit.

BFL ain't good enough or smart enough to hide it and the forensics employed will root them out and expose anything they have done to try and cover their tracks. The problem with their cute little scheme to defraud people is that they defrauded a lot of people. Meaning there will be some government agency with the power, the means and the budget to end their cute little scheme full stop. Their attempts to "hide" BTC or $$$ as BTC or property is not going to absolve them of their responsibility to make people whole. Here is hoping that these claims are in fact true and that the government has indeed made BFL a serious target for investigation. It would not surprise anyone here that these claims by the 'former BFL employee' are in fact true.

BFL may think they have covered their tracks and others may think they have covered their tracks but I doubt that anyone at BFL has the intelligence of or the resources available of these government agencies who are hopefully perusing this in earnest now. This is what was expected now let us hope it is finally coming to an end.

To play the books right, BFL would need a sharp accountant, probably one from California capable of going toe-to-to with a DA in front of live Judge. Someone like the dude that keep Sonny Vleisides outta prison, only getting an extended probation during the last court hearing. If only they could retain that guy on a permanent basis, even if he has to fly in from Cali a couple times a months to perform his duties. That guy would be great. But, what are the odds of BFL retaining THAT guy?

I asked on the BFL forums after I saw a few posts deleted on the subject. BFL Josh came forward and replied to my post. Make of it what you will.

https://forums.butterflylabs.com/the-monarch-discussion/8836-reports-bfl-have-been-raided-us-marshals-official-statement-request.html#post86110

They deleted that thread also.

Edit: It has been restored. Hmmmm.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Butterfly-Labs-Bitcoin-Miner-10-GH-S-Processor-USB-2.0-BF0010G/34952957#Item+Description
http://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/54516126.jpg

probably raided by Monsanto....  they heard BFL had Monarchs that were alive...  gotta stop that quick :)

+1

Monsanto could be losing it's top spot as "most evil company".......but I doubt it.

To those who are thinking WTF?  Google is your friend  ;)

"The World According to Monsanto"...watch it & learn something  ;)

BFL is nearing the end of their scammy days. YAY!!

http://img.deusm.com/eetimes/2014/09/1323917/3pi-dab-0047-01.jpg

Note the address: 1jyAQDoog4F4UFDt8nQCc2bTDGKcWydXd

A question was once asked: 4.) Who owns the 18UxwNVLPo7vyRkCgs5wusUfhhbMYhApAu address? Is that Eclipse? (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=150803.msg7027843#msg7027843)

That address was first used on 2012-04-04 03:09:07 GMT as shown here: https://blockchain.info/tx/be7b4664076706e55b6c81a4790f3f0032a1f7520e8edbbc22ad5ac9eb2a3c00

It's the second transaction I choose to use for illustration purposes: https://blockchain.info/tx/301a6cc7ba014d6cd966c94398203384a23bb29696d13c8f96928cef292ead12 at 2012-04-04 11:54:36 GMT.

It received funds from https://blockchain.info/address/1CQDJ8j7qRzPqT5PfDNGxgqA1J5ovUrMCd at 2012-04-04 11:54:36 GMT.

In turn, the above received funds from https://blockchain.info/address/1FQ7RTfXxXUBrWg1UUJ6r2j8SxfMUsUEQL at 2012-04-04 03:48:49 GMT.

And finally, the above received its sole funds from https://blockchain.info/address/1jyAQDoog4F4UFDt8nQCc2bTDGKcWydXd also at 2012-04-04 03:48:49 GMT. (proof below)

https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3925/15118621230_2f8e79b983_b.jpg

https://blockchain.info/address/1jyAQDoog4F4UFDt8nQCc2bTDGKcWydXd is 100% one of BitPay's bitcoin wallet address, they even coming to the tread verifying such, so that's a given. It has had only 28 transactions to date, currently with a 0 BTC balance.

It's this address https://blockchain.info/address/1MgotZQSJC2zSim2Vp8rjmz3p6frf7EACo that was used to pay for the BitForce SHA256 Single to BFL via BitPay at 2012-04-04 01:49:29 GMT (shown below).

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5556/15118830798_5c8d8f5c15_b.jpg

Pause: There's nothing nefarious about the transaction above. It's only used to show that a miner was purchased from BFL by a Bitcoiner on this forum and that BitPay was used for the transaction. That's all! It's the subsequent transactions that I'll be using to state my case.

So, to recap the transactions thus far:

1MgotZQSJC2zSim2Vp8rjmz3p6frf7EACo ---> 1jyAQDoog4F4UFDt8nQCc2bTDGKcWydXd @ 2012-04-04 01:49:29 GMT
1jyAQDoog4F4UFDt8nQCc2bTDGKcWydXd ---> 1FQ7RTfXxXUBrWg1UUJ6r2j8SxfMUsUEQL @ 2012-04-04 03:48:49 GMT
1FQ7RTfXxXUBrWg1UUJ6r2j8SxfMUsUEQL ---> 1CQDJ8j7qRzPqT5PfDNGxgqA1J5ovUrMCd @ 2012-04-04 03:48:49 GMT
1CQDJ8j7qRzPqT5PfDNGxgqA1J5ovUrMCd ---> 18UxwNVLPo7vyRkCgs5wusUfhhbMYhApAu @ 2012-04-04 11:54:36 GMT

Bombo999 posted at April 03, 2012, 09:09:31 PM CST after placing his order at 8:49:29 PM CST, 9:49:29 in Atlanta, GA, well past normal operating hours, ergo all transactions up to the last one above can safely be assumed were done automatically via some set parameters. The last transaction's time equates to 2012-04-04 @ 6:54:36 AM CST as in Kansas City.

1MgotZQSJC2zSim2Vp8rjmz3p6frf7EACo: Bombo999
1jyAQDoog4F4UFDt8nQCc2bTDGKcWydXd: BitPay
1FQ7RTfXxXUBrWg1UUJ6r2j8SxfMUsUEQL and 1CQDJ8j7qRzPqT5PfDNGxgqA1J5ovUrMCd: Assume BitPay
18UxwNVLPo7vyRkCgs5wusUfhhbMYhApAu: ? (not sure yet)

Next, we have this: https://web.archive.org/web/20130625050854/http://sonofodi.weebly.com/


Safely assume that sonofodi is none other than Sonny Vleisides as proven beyond a shadow of a doubt here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=150803.msg7027843#msg7027843

According to: view-source:https://web.archive.org/web/20130625050854/http://sonofodi.weebly.com/


1371752720 equates to Thu, 20 Jun 2013 18:25:20 GMT. On the archived site is the following pic:

https://web.archive.org/web/20130625050856im_/http://sonofodi.weebly.com/uploads/1/9/2/9/19299185/3349976_orig.jpg
https://web.archive.org/web/20130625050854/http://sonofodi.weebly.com/

Note the flood and golf course. Now, watch this: Deer Creek Golf Course flooded by rain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm4aEeHJ_4E According to the following, the flood occurred on the morning of May 31, 2013: http://www.kshb.com/news/news-photo-gallery/photos-high-water-in-and-around-kansas-city-after-morning-thunderstorm-may-31-2013

Now, check this out: http://static.squarespace.com/static/52829703e4b0920e1902d6c4/t/5292ceebe4b0af26b639a671/1385352939859/EOYC%20BoD%20Minutes%205.20.13.pdf


From the above, we've gleaned:

• May 31, 2013: Flood in KC
• June 20, 2013: Sonofodi site created
• June 25, 2013: Sonofodi site archived
• A Vleisides, as most are, are affiliated with the Greek Orthodox Church in KC
• Tom Vleisides was instrumental in a fundraising campaign in said church
• The fundraising event consisted of a Golf outing at Deer Creek
• Deer Creek was flooded prior to the creation of the Sonofodi site owned by Sonny Vleisides
• Sonny Vleisides is related to Tom Vleisides

The only thing I've yet to accomplish is find the house depicted and its owner, connecting said to Sonny. The one thing we can probably say for sure is that the flood depicted in the image occurred on May 31, 2013, in KC.

Now, back to that address: https://web.archive.org/web/20130625050854/http://sonofodi.weebly.com/


https://blockchain.info/address/1Hq2t6dJcxqZjGda919p4c4tmopNRLciAJ has only 4 transactions. Here's the first one: https://blockchain.info/tx/ce1000c2b32d26f472730d9e6e0c92da946c7beda8e7bdbe654194ea4925f49d at 2013-06-25 04:15:52

As pointed out by some other - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=150803.msg7027843#msg7027843 - the 1Hq2t6dJcxqZjGda919p4c4tmopNRLciAJ bitcoin wallet address was never advertised elsewhere excepted on the archived site linked above, yet it was able to garner funds prior to the creation of Sonny Vleisides' site to the tune of 159.9273 BTC.

Looking at the final three transactions: https://blockchain.info/address/1Hq2t6dJcxqZjGda919p4c4tmopNRLciAJ

https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3876/15283090026_7a2da40d39_b.jpg

Note the 1QAHVyRzkmD4j1pU5W89htZ3c6D6E7iWDs bitcoin wallet address. Also note the 1DiPE4TnBczmPVoy53tffrd1iNPq87B3PB address: https://blockchain.info/address/1DiPE4TnBczmPVoy53tffrd1iNPq87B3PB

Also 12uyvDAC8LNU8yGcW8dYLGPToSD2JenVfH: https://blockchain.info/address/12uyvDAC8LNU8yGcW8dYLGPToSD2JenVfH

Both addresses (in bold) funds go to 1QAHVyRzkmD4j1pU5W89htZ3c6D6E7iWDs the very next day as seen here: https://blockchain.info/tx/827063279c43c50c3f4c690dbf491071386d80068115f48d0beee7e80b4c7f2f

https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3856/15305847682_0a82861df8_b.jpg

Doing a taint analysis of the 1QAHVyRzkmD4j1pU5W89htZ3c6D6E7iWDs bitcoin wallet address, we discover: https://blockchain.info/taint/1QAHVyRzkmD4j1pU5W89htZ3c6D6E7iWDs

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5551/15283413966_96e5879124_b.jpg

Notice the 18UxwNVLPo7vyRkCgs5wusUfhhbMYhApAu bitcoin wallet address at the very top? That's the same that Bombo999's bitcoins gravitated to within hours of him transferring coins via BitPay. (scroll up a tad if you missed it)

Hopefully, I've established that both Bombo999 bitcoins used to purchase a miner from BFL and Sonny Vleisides' 1Hq2t6dJcxqZjGda919p4c4tmopNRLciAJ address used to amass BTC from the sale of chips, gravitated to the 1QAHVyRzkmD4j1pU5W89htZ3c6D6E7iWDs bitcoin wallet address.

Now, what else is the 1QAHVyRzkmD4j1pU5W89htZ3c6D6E7iWDs address known for?

This: https://blockchain.info/tx/1b6ea350c094071412df1f801651263fd65ffa0b89ad6c8626ceeca8755f50bc

https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3870/15299307081_2090f5fcb4_b.jpg

As seen here - http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/10/prweb11283333.htm - the 1QAHVyRzkmD4j1pU5W89htZ3c6D6E7iWDs address was used as the infamous $1M USD down payment for the purchase of BFL Monarchs by HashTrade. But, clearly that's an impossibility, for that wallet address either belongs to BFL or BitPay, and I'm assuming the former. If the latter, then there be some 'splainin' to do on BitPay's part. And we sure the hell don't want that, for they're one of the few good guys playin' here in the Bitcoin space, and I love them, Tony, et al.

The bottom line is that NO FUCKIN' WAY does the 1QAHVyRzkmD4j1pU5W89htZ3c6D6E7iWDs bitcoin wallet address belong to HashTrade, and we can safely assume that BFL and HashTrade were/are pullin' a fast one, and, furthermore, BFL has a stash of bitcoins that's being kept from pryin' eyes, e.g., the IRS and Sonny's probation officer, for clearly there's some money laundering going on here, and you can bet your bottom satoshi that Josh Zerlan is smack dab in the middle of it.

It was Coinware's HashTrade, et al., that I was just starting to dig into when Josh, once again, called me out as a liar, going as far as offering up a 1 BTC bet that I couldn't go a month without lying. I proposed 10 BTC and two months, whereupon the bet was sealed. Then, in spite of others telling me to hush for two months, I continued to post even more, but had to be very mindful of what to post in BFL's threads for fear of losing the bet, but I did post plenty of safe posts. Come January, Josh did pay up, but for two months, then forward for a few more months, CoinWare, et al., was not discussed much till most recently, now that I've revived it.

If this goes to trail, at its end there'll be 12 angry monumental assholes convening for only a short while prior to coming back to the court room with their verdict - GUILTY!

~Bruno Kucinskas

EDIT: I forgot to add an important piece of info. The 18UxwNVLPo7vyRkCgs5wusUfhhbMYhApAu bitcoin wallet address is where the 10 BTC that Josh paid me to satisfy the bet, albeit not directly, but after about a dozen hops.

After a couple months of investigating, BFL will pay a small fine and then open up shop under another alias and do it all over again.

http://jeffcity.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/photos/2013/04/19/APTOPIX_Police_Conver_Brow_t670.jpg?b3f6a5d7692ccc373d56e40cf708e3fa67d9af9d
"If it has a tail and squeaks, shoot the furry."

Hi there,

Cyrus Farivar here from Ars Technica.

I have reported extensively on BFL for some time now. If you or anyone else has eyewitness accounts, documents or other materials to share, I would be very willing to hear/see them.

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/05/in-18-months-feds-got-nearly-300-complaints-about-bitcoin-miner-maker/

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/04/digging-for-answers-the-strong-smell-of-fraud-from-one-bitcoin-miner-maker/

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/02/new-lawsuit-against-bitcoin-miner-manufacturer-alleges-fraud-negligence/

http://arstechnica.com/business/2013/06/gold-in-them-bits-inside-the-worlds-most-mysterious-bitcoin-mining-company/

I accept communication via OTR/PGP.

http://arstechnica.com/ars-staff-pgp-keys/#cyrus-farivar

Best,

-C

It would be nice if you could also write an article about KNC's behavior towards their once loyal customers after they have obtained funding.

There is also the AMT Joshua Zipkin story as well (run a google search for AMT Joshua Zipkin). Plenty to tell there. Ars could do a whole column on various scammy vendors.

And, Alex Sovu of Black Arrow, and on Matt Carson, BA's main reseller, who also maintains a growing farm at 3250 Oakland St, Suite D, Aurora, CO.

Look who was feeding the chickens.  Better save it for posterity.  ;D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwkKNhUaZSw

Why was this moved to service discussions?

They got served?

Lol! He just posted a bunch of links to articles very critical of BFL.

You obviously didn't read the articles but you could have at least read the links.

So far there hasn't been a single link to a government website containing a press release about any "raids".

Every "report" posted here and on reddit has been carefully crafted to sound plausible and informed.  It could very well be that this is nothing but a FUD campaign and that absolutely nothing actually happened.  (i.e. you've all been played)

Has anyone actually bothered going to BFL's offices in KC to check things out?

*sound of crickets*

Didn't think so.

At least three people are on record on this forum stating that they did indeed check it out, verifying the claim. Again, if it were not true, don't you think that Bruce or Josh would be here sticking it up our asses for spreading false rumors? They have not going on four days now since this past Friday, ergo a major event occurred at Camp BFL, and chickens are not being fed due their owner being in jail in an opposite ward where Sonny Vleisides is also currently being held. Josh is playing the Schultz card...

http://i.qkme.me/1epg.jpg

Posting under a screen name on a public message board is hardly "going on record".

Pics or it didn't happen.  Let's see some timestamped, geotagged selfies at BFL HQ.

That's not going to happen because of the gag orders they're all subject to.

But given Josh's proclivities to give everyone a quarter and invite them to buy a clue (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlWrmIqGs3Y) at the slightest sign of unjustified criticism, don't you think he'd be out on every board, barrels blazing, denying the "rumors" if they weren't true?

Instead, all that is offered is a promise to check the "very persistent" rumors, followed by Schlock locking the thread. As I stated in another thread, that is anything but a denial.

Official FTC Complaint Against Butterfly Labs Obtained (http://coinfire.cf/2014/09/23/official-ftc-complaint-butterfly-labs-obtained/)

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/09/feds-label-bitcoin-miner-maker-butterfly-labs-as-systematic-deception/ - Cyrus Farivar's article for Ars Technica on the FTC civil lawsuit, dated 9/23.

http://nighthacks.com/roller/jag/resource/ShitHitsFanMediumT.png

We meet at last...

Totally unexpected

So BFL's long-con finally comes to an end.  Oh happy day!

I'm just glad I got my two Monarchs and refund. The 2nd Monarch was delivered last week and I received the refund the same day the 2nd unit was shipped. Now I don't care if they fall off the face of the earth.

Good riddance!

http://www.coindesk.com/us-government-shuts-embattled-mining-firm-butterfly-labs/

Doc: http://www.scribd.com/doc/240695413

SO, IT IS TRUE!!!

Yep, the news is everywhere now and you heard it here first.

Here is a Washington Post article on the raid.

Good riddance, BFL!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/09/23/this-is-the-ftcs-first-ever-bitcoin-case-and-its-winning/

SWEET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   :D :D :D :D :D

I'm sooo freakin happy!!!!!!!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Sxv-sUYtM


http://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2014/09/ftcs-request-court-halts-bogus-bitcoin-mining-operation

 :D ;D :o ;D :D

https://i.imgur.com/rCu4u4J.jpg

This is Darla Jo Drake's (Jody) personal website.
http://www.awakeningworld.com/HomeAssistant/resume.html

Wow finally... they must've received lots of complaints in the last 2 years  :D

Well I understand those monarchs are prone to failure so you may not be done being upset with BFL just yet.

And I'm certainly not going to earn back my original investment. But I'm still happy to wash my hands of that stench. I just hope the other ASIC manufacturers are paying attention. If there's any justice in the world, the Swedish equivalent of the FTC is making plans to raid KNC as I type this.

The MSM and the FTC are saying it now. Acceptable enough for you mate or is it all still rumours as far as your concerned?

Id feel like a real dick about now if i had taken such a combative attitude on the issue.

It's just a particularly persistent rumor...

this is how I feel now about BFL going under

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/A9o6YqvCcAA81v_.png

after the classic 2 hour shout box fight with josh last summer (my proudest moment) and getting banned ..I was so p/o'd that I
bought a KNC 550gh Jupiter (50 coin so far) and then BFL refunded me on my deluded 65mm upgrade to a monarchs in june ($8.5k)

SO as a result I basically cleaned up from you being such a bunch of as*w*pes....


he who laughs last and all that...schmucks ....

have a good time in prison ....

this had to happen long time ago

At least in the USA they get punished, here in the Netherlands they will get 2 weeks in jail and a fine of €200 ;D

I never denied it, just questioned the report due to a lack of real corroboration.  I've witnessed enough of these dogpiles to know that you can't believe everything you read on the internet (or anywhere else for that matter).

As far as being a dick is concerned I'd feel more of a dick for joining the mob and finding out later it was all FUD.

If it had been anybody but BFL I might agree with you but nobody deserves this more than those a-holes.  And Josh can't seem to refrain from telling lies and being a complete dick to everyone he deals with so in my book the entire bitcointalk forum can be totally excused for wanting this to be true and dog piling even before it was fully verified.  BFL earned this in spades.

Amazingly Josh is still answering questions on the BFL forum.

Why do you find that amazing?

Josh squeal to the FEDs it is your only hope!

bro your game is finally over, game over.. how does it feel?

Josh doesn't answer questions, he only asks them.

Josh aka Inabobo, keeps taps on all of us... LOL ... BUT in 2weeks he'll have to watch out for all the gangster trying to cuddle with him :) LOL

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3_PrxTZXmhw/T7V8XIEL5TI/AAAAAAAAFX8/f_xZ8yRxqdY/s1600/11-lets-go-to-prison-17.jpg

Game over Josh.  Any intelligent person saw this coming a year and a half ago, but I didn't want any energy engaging you since you don't really engage in conversation, you just try to muddy the waters.  I just hope the feds can find all of BFL's and Josh's BTC they tried to hide away.

I love reading your trust rating. -906 LOL

Pirateat40 only has a negative trust of -20. ROFL

Maybe Inaba is just a new implementation of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELIZA ? His keyword-oriented response generation is effective in emulating the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ELIZA_effect to generate voluminous discussion threads.

Well, aren't you still seeing what you can do (https://forums.butterflylabs.com/the-monarch-discussion/8836-reports-bfl-have-been-raided-us-marshals-official-statement-request-post86112.html#post86112)? Maybe you should clarify the situation for the poor guys that are still in limbo?

Why do I need to do that?  It's already been done, a press release has been made and the statement is out there. I imagine there will be lots of sad troll pandas in the future. I'd say they'd look like idiots, but they already do, so it would be redundant.

Well, at least you're sad about it.

LOL plus 1000  and I hope JZ and the rest go to jail for fraud for a long long time. Enjoy my cash you decided to steal temporarily BFL.. Looks like I will finally get it back and then some.

hahahaahahahahahahahahahah... Fucken assholes

You just made my head explode!

And I think you might actually be correct. Lol.

they took the thread down

haa Josh says on BFL forum that everything should be resolved next week.  Sure, the court is just going to disbelieve the FTC and allow BFL to continue the screwing of the customers...

OMG :) look what the Troll brought in LOL ... Braaa! are YOU delusional? ... You think this whole scam is a small thing? ... wow ... The fed's bring down your operation and your just like..."what ever man... ill show you who has the last laugh" ... Your DELUSIONAL   boy...



I hope your cellie cuddle's YOU    
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3_PrxTZXmhw/T7V8XIEL5TI/AAAAAAAAFX8/f_xZ8yRxqdY/s1600/11-lets-go-to-prison-17.jpg

not sure what you mean FTC comes along and says you at BFL are doing what everyone who purchased a 65mm and monarch unit from you all said

ie taking $$ and not refunding and not shipping a product that makes any sense in a timely manner (at the least prob more fraud will be found)

so if you want to see a 'sad idiot' look in a mirror.....

sheesh what a tool you are..being a megalomaniac in the face of reality must really suck after the FTC and now the IRS is investigating..by the by Josh did
you file your mining returns as stated by the IRS guidelines on alt currency mining 2013 in the USA?

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCAQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.irs.gov%2Fpub%2Firs-drop%2Fn-14-21.pdf&ei=a5UlVKXnOZGeyATO7YHQBg&usg=AFQjCNG2g1OtOLBx6oIf45FLTw1JA_zo4Q&bvm=bv.76247554,d.aWw

Better get your big boy pants on ..where the FTC goes the IRS is sure to follow.....

They gonna get ya like they got Al Capone. LOL

That's ok because I got a preorder for you on super slippery lube guaranteed to keep the friction down to a minimum. It's called ButtSafe and it is available for preorder now. Send in $2,999 and you'll be reserved a spot in the queue. We guarantee to deliver it right to your prison cell before the first hemmoroid pops.




Disclaimer: all sales final - no refunds if you're an idiot and we think we can fuck you and get away with it - we accept Bitcoin but immediately convert it to cash so we don't have to refund anyone in Bitcoin when we get caught in fraud - lube may not perform as claimed and could be severely underpowered - power supply not included even if you paid for one - as a reminder this company and its officers think your an idiot and will continue to call you names throughout the sale period. Thank you for providing the funding to develop ButtSafe through your preorders but this grants you no special rights or privledges to receive product on time or at all - just for good measure, fuck all of you stupid idiots. Happy Shopping!

I like it, Almost as much as josh chewing on dick candy :)

gotta say though, I said 3 YEARS AGO almost. When i met him at bitcoin conference in london 2012 it was BLATANTLY obvious! Crack sweats galour! Guy obviously lives on cloud 9.

He was trained in phy-ops in the army, Its where he learnt how to BS the way he does but what happens to people who continue down these lines is they actually believe there own lies! As you can see with joshy boy. This is why the puppet show of the so called goverment, police, courts, solicitors, lawyers continues to this day. People ACTUALLY believe this bullshit but if you have had any experience with either, you will see what a joke it all is, An illusion!

People are too dumbed down with schooling (programming) and eating all the shit in our food, water and what not. But some of us are not blinded by there bullshit, Some of us see right through it! Unfortunitly 90% of people dont!

How do you know that? Can you give us a link to his post?

Cockroach never refutes it

I'm sure he dreams of being trained in psy-ops, along with his service in Seal Team Six, but IIRC he was a Korean linguist.

At least he'll be able to promise to love you long time if he encounters any Korean drug kings in the slammer.

Trained at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California.  Prime duty.  Might be where he got his pilot's license.

Thanks, I checked the Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Language_Institute  and this institution grands AA degrees, which is far away from the psy-ops educational requirements.

This type of teaching establishment have their own occupational risks, which I think Churchill summed the best: ability to squeeze the maximum of words into the minimum of meaning.

This would also completely explain Inaba's dialectical habits. Given the sentence "two plus two equal five", he would correct it to "two plus two equals five" or complain that it isn't a well-formed sentence but just a clause.

In my opinion that has more in common with "verbal tic" than a highly skilled social technique. I've met unquestionably highly educated people who to the end of their life couldn't get rid of similar language habits learned in a mediocre language schools (religious, not military). This ELIZA technique is frequently used to quickly approximate a fluent speech.

What is the best way to read up on what happens in the case on Monday? Is there somewhere that the court proceedings are published?

I find it amazingly stupid.  You are involved in pending civil litigation with the possibility of criminal charges.  People in that situation would have legal counsel who would tell them not to make any public statements because they could be used against them.  BFL has already pissed of the regulators by posting their rebuttal and having those foam fingers made up with customer funds.   I have referred your postings to the attorney who is heading up the case for the FTC and I explained about how you conspired with the people who run this forum to run ads that everybody involved knew would not be delivered as required by law.  Hopefully some of those funds can be recovered and returned to the people who trusted the operators of this forum.

You may also note the Chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation, Peter Vessenes, was trying to hide mining funds from a customer and was caught after posting on this forum:  http://cointext.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/alydiancomplaint.pdf
That was the last post he made here.

All the FTC vs BFL court documents & evidence can be found here: Index of http://ia902308.us.archive.org/32/items/gov.uscourts.mowd.117531/

Only issue the FTC is gonna run into is BFL did deliver some units and clearly was actively working on R&D (to some extent at least) so the only real solid case against them is misuse of company funds which is basically a hefty fine no jail time and more than likely no settlement on delayed orders, at most they may be forced to use any monarch cards they have in their cloud mining datacenter to send to customers which at 40 billion network difficulty would only make a few bucks a day. I doubt if any real repercussions will come about. One judge has already said he believes there was foul play and if he could he would lock the 3 of them up for the full 24 months.. yeah at best only 24 months for a multi million dollar scam so I seriously doubt if there will be any satisfactory justice for those of us that were duped.

"Some units", yes. But how many? If you only ship half of what you promised, while refusing refunds to the rest after you convince them to upgrade to the next, much more powerful hardware generation (in exchange for a 10% restocking fee, natch), that's a deceptive business practice as well. Not to mention the fact that NONE of the shipped units, aside perhaps from the first few that went to special friends, delivered the yield BFL promised, due to the extensive delays.

And don't forget their massive "burn-in" farms, which comprised up to 3% of the entire network and poured their proceeds directly into BFL's pocket. In financial circles, that's called the "skim", and it's illegal as hell (not least because of the additional shipping delays it caused - taking BTC that should have gone directly into customers wallets).

I don't know if failure to disclose that BFL purchased Eclipse way back in June 2012 - a fact that wasn't revealed until the release of a deposition - is deceptive as defined under law, but it was certainly unethical.

If they failed to disclose their millions in BTC income, because they believed it untraceable, then they might be looking at many years of turning large rocks into smaller rocks.

The BFL Three just got an extra week to provide the evidence demanded by the court (http://ia902308.us.archive.org/32/items/gov.uscourts.mowd.117531/gov.uscourts.mowd.117531.135.0.pdf). Come back next week when they ask for another week, but aren't granted it.

I completely agree with you, I also hope I'm wrong and they get locked up. I'm just looking at it from a legal perspective and while yes everybody knows they acted in a very deceptive way and drained I believe it was 40 million dollars from company funds to enrich their lifestyles it has to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that they set out from the beginning to never deliver and since they did deliver on a fraction of what they sold and proved they were in active development it will be near impossible to prove what their mind set was. As I said I whole heartedly hope I'm wrong and that the judge is willing to bend the law a little to see them behind bars where we all know they belong however if that did happen  I am fairly confident the decision could easily be overturned by a different judge in appeals court. Although  they are clearly guilty as sin it's not what we know it's what can be proven in court and in my opinion the prosecution will have a difficult time proving what BFL's intentions were because they clearly stated no refunds and late deliverys can be claimed as simply manufacturering  delays the only solid case I see is misuse of company funds. Hopefully I'm wrong.

What BFL did and does, is in fact the corporate view on marketing, bullshit innovations, while earning very high profits, corporate America applauds BFL....

That's right success at any and all costs, and a judicial system that can easily be twisted and manipulated so they can do it all "Legally" or at least their corporate lawyers spin on legality.

They haven't been very successful at that so far. See ORDER regarding misconduct. Signed on 10/27/2014 by District Judge Brian C. Wimes. (Wells, Claudia) (http://www.archive.org/download/gov.uscourts.mowd.117531/gov.uscourts.mowd.117531.110.0.pdf)

The Court is aware of the growing lack of civility and professionalism among the parties in this case and, therefore, puts the parties on notice of several options available to it if such conduct continues. Through its inherent power to maintain respect and decorum, the Court is
granted the flexibility to equitably tailor a sanction that appropriately fits any misconduct. See Plaintiffs’ Baycol Steering Comm. v. Bayer Corp., 419 F.3d 794, 802 (8th Cir. 2005) (recognizing inherent power to sanction after notice and opportunity to be heard).
Available sanctions include a lecture from the Court, a monetary penalty, a recommendation by the Court to the appropriate bar association that the attorney be subject to disciplinary action, or a public reprimand directly by the Court and made available on the Court’s website. More extreme sanctions include disbarment or contempt findings.

The Court recognizes that this is a contentious and vigorously disputed lawsuit. But the Court expects the parties to treat each other, the Temporary Receiver (which is appointed by, and serves as, an officer of the Court), and the Court with professionalism and respect. Name calling, veiled suggestions, ad hominem attacks, and unfounded accusations directed at opposing counsel, the Temporary Receiver, or the Court will not be tolerated and potentially subjects a party to the above sanctions.

The parties, the Temporary Receiver, and the Court have a lot of work to accomplish in a little amount of time. The Court will not allow harassing and unbecoming conduct to distract from the orderly administration of this lawsuit. If it continues to observe inappropriate behavior,
the Court will not hesitate to schedule a show cause hearing to address the offending conduct .

IT IS SO ORDERED.

To quote Austin Powers, "Oh, behave!"

That proves my argument, it is saying they believe there was criminal negligence but are unable to prove any unlawful act. The statement about no slanderous statements being tolerated is sadly as much to protect the court as it is to protect the BFL's defendants from any defamation of character statements from being publicly released under penalty of law.

It proves nothing of the sort. The FTC is in the process of proving the violations of its statutes before a court of law. The court obviously feels they have a sound case, or it never would have imposed the ex parte order in the first place.

Apparently, BFL's lawyers are attempting to use the same tactics of insult and intimidation that BFL themselves used against their customers, but the judge has said "Homey don't play dat." They're also trying a Hail Mary with their motion to dismiss ("with prejudice", which is a legal middle finger to the opposition). In light of the overwhelming evidence against them, this is the only tactic available to them, but has zero chance of succeeding.

Sorry, but you obviously have no idea what you're talking about. And even more likely, you're a BFL sockpuppet. Your constant attempts to downplay the charges seem to indicate something in that direction.

Did you even read the order you posted? I think you like most of us want BFL to get what we know they deserve so badly that you are just twisting what is clearly written in that order. I hope they do get locked up but if you read the documents that have been released with an unbiased mindset you too will see they aren't what you're thinking/hoping they are. Hopefully I'm wrong and the prosecution has some evidence that has yet to be made public that will get BFL the jail time they deserve but so far none of the evidence or court orders look very promising. Especially the undeniable fact that BFL website, while under temporary receivership, is still allowed to sell miners; if fraud charges were certain that website would have been immediately taken down. So I do hope BFL is held accountable but so far it doesn't look good.

i just visited their website just now http://www.butterflylabs.com/ and the announcement from the court is not there anymore?

what are the news?

The FTC will continue with its lawsuit. In the meantime, BFL will start to get back to business with 2 main changes. 1, no more pre-orders, and 2, prompt refunds. The Monarch product is no longer competitive, so anyone who has an order and doesn't request a refund is an idiot. BFL will get no new customers, because they are banned from taking pre-orders, and they cannot develop a new product without the pre-order cash.

thank you for your reply i wasn't awere of that and in fact i think it's good news.

but do you know what happens with all the other that we got ripped off and that is proven.
I received my 1 of two orders 1 year later
and i received refund on the other in usd and not in BTC even though such an information was not written.
I had a skype contac't with Dave and he told back then "i'm not going to refund you in BTC for no reason."
And when i told him you advertised something you can't provide and i paid you in btc so it's your problem you can't deliver not mine
he told me ok we didn't write this on the site but we will write it and we are not going to refund you in btc i felt been ripped off and that is proven not only for me...
so what will happen with all of us we got ripped of by them??

You have to consult a lawyer.

Your options:

You can join the class action lawsuit at Wood Law Firm - Info here (http://www.woodlaw.com/cases/butterfly-labs-and-bf-labs-inc-bitcoin-miners).
You can still submit a complaint about BFL to the FTC, using this form (https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/GettingStarted?NextQID=203&Url=%23%26panel1-6#crnt). The FTC lawsuit is still ongoing, and any additional complaints they receive will strengthen their case.
You can get your own lawyer, as suggested above, but that would probably not be cost-effective.

In any case, you can make sure that everyone on the Internet knows what kind of company BFL is.

They knew before and that didn't stop many from sending them their hard earned.

Good to see BFL gonna get fucked here, they deserve it after all the bullshit they've caused me and many others. Luckily I was only invested for a couple hundred fiat wise.

I'm a little late but I was also a victim of BFL fraud... twice. I submitted a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission.

Firstly between Jan-Mar 2013 I ordered 6 30GH miners and 1 60GH miner for grand total of $6089.00. These orders took over 1 year to be delivered and were useless on delivery. Secondly On August 19, 2013 I ordered: two 600 GH/s Bitcoin Miners $4,680.00 each shipping & handling was $90.00 for a grand total of $9,450.00 (this order I paid in Bitcoin total was 96BTC) bitcoin was worth around $100 when I ordered. These miners were never delivered, we were given lies every few days saying they were almost ready. I wated over a year and during this time my 96btc was worth over $100000. When they offered refunds they only gave me back 1/6 of my bitcoins I paid or the USD equivlent at the time. I got 16.5BTC refunded from a 96BTC order, Butterfly Labs also kept the mining hardware for themselves. I was frauded out of $6089.00 and 79.5 bitcoins.

You ordered again after the first miner were a year late...

I feel for the people who went for upgrades due to how late the miners were who went to the upgrade.  But damn after a year late you ordered more....

I'm still hurting all over from this  :'( the 2 times bitcoin shot up in value my money was in the wallets of BFL. I'm still working on paying my debts off.

Who would of thought they would take a over a year (again) on the monarchs? I paid no attention to the bad attitude of Josh and the way he does not get along well with with his customers. I figured he's a just a geek with bad HR. I thought they were just incompetent and not scammers on the 30GH & 60GH miners, I had no idea they were using my miners to get more bitcoins.

I think the main reason I ordered a monarch was because there was no bitmain or spoondoolies at the time & the monarch was just as fast as the minirig which was $30000. It seemed like I could break even after a year, I was really into mining and bitcoin was new to me. They said they learned from their mistakes on the previous generation and the Monarch would not be delayed, they were confident when they opened pre-orders, then the delays started "two more weeks" he says. LIES! I even believed the story about the weak metal layer in the chips and stuff.  ::)

Well you learned your lesson a very hard way sadly.  I do feel sorry for you still.

I watched the monarchs from their announcement.  I was looking for a good miner for home at the time and wanted to rack mount but decided against when i read more into their first ASIC experince.

In that way i got lucky thanks to bitcointalk.

But i missed the boat on mining.  At this point the miners around just draw too much power for my home wiring sadly.

So i lost too in the end

Thanks for the info i just send the complaint!

Here are the news i received by email

http://www.spencerfane.com//SnapshotFiles/fe6ec39c-1858-4244-8390-6b06950c2839/Subscriber.snapshot?clid=dd7f0e88-f2b4-4c82-91fd-07403facf79b&cid=e610c6a3-35d6-4e50-85e1-ffffd2d55145&ce=N%2f5mUKyduycDBpX19gxMSwdgnpW4zqhr


Thank you for your inquiry regarding BF Labs, Inc. d/b/a Butterfly Labs (“Butterfly Labs”). You have previously contacted this receivership and the purpose of this email is to provide you an update with respect to the same.

A preliminary injunction hearing was held on November 24-25, 2014. On December 12, 2014, the Court entered an order denying the FTC’s motion for preliminary injunction, asset freeze, appointment of receiver, and other equitable relief.

On December 23, 2014, the Court entered its order related to procedures for the wind down of the temporary receivership (“Wind Down Procedures Order”). Pursuant to the Wind Down Procedures Order, Butterfly Labs’ management has full control and authority over its business operations.

All inquiries related to operations, products, refunds, and shipping, should be directed to Butterfly Labs. For further information, you may visit the Butterfly Lab’s website at www.butterflylabs.com or email Office@butterflylabs.com.
------------

What will happen now?

I would gather this only applies to stuff not shipped out.. I would assume that BFL has already shifted most to the cloud hashing or shipped monarchs and none of this applies to those who already got late miners in 65mm or whatever

in other words looks like BFL wins? (or am I missing something)

It to me looks like BFL will wind down as a company ..declare bankruptcy and being a corporation the principal investors will be protected and walk

let me know if i'm missing something but this all looks a lot like the bank crisis of 2007 when no one went to jail

but then again....I'm still waiting for the IRS to wade in (crosses fingers)

They spent a lot of customer preorder money on legal fees so it's not like nothing happened. I started warning people about preorder scams almost the day BFL opened and they didn't listen. The only preorder in history that has ended up not being a scam is preorder books and Barnes & Noble managed to scam that one too. Gmaxwell and I warned people (not just here but on IRC too) not to give any money to pirate because it was a scam. It didn't help because, I guess, people can't learn lessons from history. When they started complaining to the FTC I also told them that would have limited success because of the nature of FTC investigations. The FTC supports business and helps them recover from mistakes. They're not in the business of crippling Amercian industry.

At this point the money given to BFL is lost. There is no government "white knight" that's going to ride in and give everyone back their lost money (hell, it's been spent on attorneys now so there's nothing to give back). All you can do is go for revenge. If someone can discover a crime committed that comes under the jurisdiction of a punitive agency then you can get revenge. The IRS can be punitive but they're really just about money. As long as they get their cut they will leave you alone. That cut of the cash can come at any time too, even after the fact, as long as you pay penalties and interest. You need to catch them breaking a law that gun toting cops can arrest them for and put them in jail.

BTW: Don't bother with the FCC either because those aren't gun toting cops. All they do is deliver fines which will give even more of the preorder money to the government.

The FTC was not able to completely shutdown BFL. Other than that, the FTC has already won 4 major victories:

1. Shutdown BFL for long enough that other companies have far superior products available for immediate purchase.
2. BFL cannot take pre-orders ever again.
3. BFL must provide prompt refunds to anyone who asks.
4. FTC's lawsuit against BFL will continue.

BFL's product is uncompetitive. They have no way to fund new products. BFL is finished. Celebrate!

In my case i had 2 orders. I paid 120 BTC and 109.
I canceled my order and gave me back 27 btc( i ask to get my full refund because i paid with btc and told me in Skype that's not going to happen.... when i informed him that terms and conditions are not refering to that told me i'm sorry we are going to write it....) and the other arrived 1 year later and as you can understand was useless....

what do you think i should do???

I emailed office@butterflylabs.com requesting my FULL BTC refund today, for them to keep 5/6 of my coins is criminal. We'll see how that goes.

Here's what will happen if too many people ask for refunds at once.

I'm afraid that's not going to fly. They refunded you the BTC equivalent of your order in USD, at current exchange rates, as they are required to do.

It's the same as if you paid with any other foreign currency.

they took our bitcoins mine for themselves and after the units were useless they send to us....

they have to shut down and every person that is involved there has to be monitored if he tries to open a new firm etc.....

I really wouldn't get tired of punching josh's stupid ugly face

Yep, that's the jist of it. They amassed personal wealth at the expense of others and the American legal system protects them. Ain't America grand? I don't see any difference between this business and HSBC. They're just another collection of assholes manipulating a corrupt and broken legal system.

MtGox.com and Butterflylabs.com are two cases we have to leave behind in the bitcoin community but must take back our BTC in order to do that and of course this goes more on case 1.....

So are the victims getting anything out of this? I feel like the raid is great, but should of done long time ago.. back in 2013.

i dont think you`ll get your full btc refund, just because the way you paid in btc.

but hopefully these guys will finally come to an end after this raid.

finally some progress on this BFL scandal. A raid is something, better then nothing.. here.

Now whats with the status on the court process with FTC.

Yeah, but because of that we got like new comers like GAWminers who doing a similar setup.

And now its like all these cloud service sites popping like with free stupid giveaways.

and in case of MtGox we have news! 1st of the year for a major Japanese newspaper that claims of 99% Missing Mt Gox Bitcoins Likely an Inside Job, Say Japanese Police.....
more news will come on 3rd of Janunary...in 2 days....

let's see what will happen... it seems to me that M.K. will have to give everything back within weeks if is the brain of this job....
and his masterplan has failed to take our btc and run away.. :)

I still dont get why the owner of mt.gox isnt behind bars or serving time.. is japans law really that different?

As for the BFL situation, they really need to fine Josh already and take everything they havent.

Why isn't Josh behind bars too?

It seems that their laywers are really good, slimy folks.... So I will be surprised if he does time, maybe a big fine as maximum, you must remember, he IS white and only disadvantaged a small portion of people in America, so my guess is he will walk...

I got my email reply from office@butterflylabs.com it only took them "Two weeks" to tell me they are keeping 5/6 of my bitcoins.

Bye Bye 79.5BTC & oh ya... fuck you BFL! I really hope to meet Josh one day so I can thank him for the fraud.   >:(

https://i.imgur.com/6HqqXj9.jpg

Sorry, but many people already told you that you didn't have chance there. You can blame BFL for many things, but not for unfavorable fluctuations in the BTC/$ exchange rate.

If you paid for your order in yen and the yen appreciated 20% against the dollar in the interim, you'd still get the same dollar amount refunded, but that would be 20% less in the yen equivalent.

This BFL scam thing has been going on since like 2013, so if you invested still without hearing multiple thread warnings in the scam accusation and other areas plus service thread then thats unfortunate.

But 79 btc.. that shit makes me cry.

Yes it's very sad, I have been mining bitcoin since January 2013 with GPUs when they were trading @ $14 each & saving all of them I managed to save 100BTC. My extra bitcoin hobby earned me $10,000 it was amazing when the price hit $100/each. I'm not rich that was all my BTC + I went into a little debt to get 2 monarch. I thought it was the next best thing but instead It pretty much ruined my life. I was going to rely on the mining to live, I put everything I had into it. BFL held my bitcoins over a year as I watched the price soar over 1k and back down to $500. Meanwhile I started struggling to pay my way, I was left with nothing. It was tragic turning 30 when I lost my house on my birthday and had to move back in with my parents (lucky I have nice parents who were willing to take me back in or I would be homeless now). Life has never been the same after BFL, my outlook on life changed from happy go lucky to always depressed, I lost my job, sold most my possessions, basically the world has literally crumbled down around me. At this point I was pretty much losing my will to live. I had to rely on family & credit cards to buy groceries, pay bills, & buy back into bitcoin. I know I'm the idiot for buying stupid shit but I decided to save my 16BTC BFL refunded me... so now with the sinking BTC price lately I have lost even more money. I now have almost 30k in debts to pay off. Life becomes more of a hopeless struggle day after day. Hopefully BTC recovers soon  :'( thx BFL...

You still have 16 BTC, more then I ever had... Sad to read though, never put all your eggs in one basket, crypto is so new and way ahead of it's time, that it could go eatherway. Sadly, the moment banks will launch the new global world order crypto, all sheeps will get into it, because corporations are much better...

 Bitcoin is a bubble, a high risk "investment". You never rely your life to a high risk investment. NEVER.

Bitcoin world is full of scammers and speculators. You seems to be a good person and you came into a "dark" world , full of "sharks" to make an honest business.
Well, here it's not like in real life. Unfortunately, you had to lose some money to learn that.

I recommend you to take a normal job and to rebuild your life.

I know it's not easy but I am pretty be sure that you can do that. You will forget about Bitcoin shit in one year....

Also, if you want to make a good thing, tell to others about that. Tell them to stay away of this "world" if they want to make an honest business. Bitcoin is not made for that.

It all just goes to prove once again that in a gold rush, it's the company that sells the shovels that has the most success.

Of course, if that company stacks the deck, by going into the mines and digging up all the gold before selling you those shovels, then the miners never have a chance.

I'm sorry to say, but it seems reasonable.

And if you made that second order for 2 monarch after what they did to you, you can't blame them.