Scammer: Pirateat40

[Coincomm]

Stole my 20 BTC and doesn't afraid of anything. Promised continued returns on my original 5 BTC profit. Didn't deliver and never will.

Will not do business with again.

[1715367626]

1715367626

[1715367626]

1715367626

[1715367626]

1715367626

[1715367626]

1715367626

[1715367626]

1715367626

[fabrizziop]

Stole my 20 BTC and doesn't afraid of anything. Promised continued returns on my original 5 BTC profit. Didn't deliver and never will.

Will not do business with again.

I bet we see a lot of these threads...

Well, they should just consolidate it into only one. Even the pic they took in Las Vegas was deleted :/

[Shadow383]

Surely it's now about time that scammer tags were handed out where appropriate?

[gbl08ma]

Well, they should just consolidate it into only one. Even the pic they took in Las Vegas was deleted :/

Don't tell me nobody remembered to save it offline?

[malevolent]

Well, they should just consolidate it into only one. Even the pic they took in Las Vegas was deleted :/

Don't tell me nobody remembered to save it offline?

I have it on another computer that I'll be able to access in a few days, if no one has it saved (which I doubt, btw. Goat -- yours doesn't count ) I'll post it here. There was also another one with pirateat40's face (better quality).

[tosku]

Who are the guys in the picture? I recognize Goat as second from the right. Which one is Pirate?

[Francesco]

What about a "Hero Scammer" label? Instead of just red crosses, five tiny jolly rogers! (someone had to propose it  )

@Goat, glad to see your humor was not lost in this story, unlike coins!

[P4man]

Surely it's now about time that scammer tags were handed out where appropriate?

Indeed. You can always remove the tag if some miracle would happen.

But it seems appropriate to hand out scammer tags to passthrough operators equally. Consider this;  If Pirate were to post he wasnt running a ponzi but he really believed he could make 7% per week by manipulating the market, arbitrage  or "selling coins locally" or whatever, and it just went bad; as long as  he doesnt pay up, I dont think people would accept thats a good enough excuse to not give him a scammer tag. He should have known better.  If pirate isnt allowed the "stupid defence",  then neither should PPT operators that made (and still make) the same ludicrous claims.

Likewise,  if pirate would say he passed your coins to someone else who promised him a little over 7% per week, and that  person perpetuated the real ponzi and Pirate only was a "victim" of it, it will not and should not absolve Pirate. So why should it absolve PPT operators who took your coins, passed it on to someone else (pirate) and then claim to be scammed?

If you think PPT operators can just pass all  responsibility on to Pirate, then you would have to allow pirate to do the same.  I dont think so. I think its about time people took responsibility for their words and actions.

[P4man]

I dont remember Nefario or Satoshi endorsing Pirate or his businessmodel. I do remember you doing so vehemently.

[P4man]

Goat you should learn when to shut up. People can read and this forum is littered with a gazillion posts of you attacking  and insulting anyone critical of Pirate's. Do I really need to dig some up again?

As for my role, thats also so typical of you: deflecting. Trying to get Theymos involved. Or Nefario. Or me. Anything to deflect attention from your role.  Instead of pointing fingers at others,  dont you think you owe at the very least a humble apology first?

And for the record, I didnt make a profit on pirate, my "profit" is still on a bitcoinmax account. All whopping 15 BTC. But unlike you, I only gambled with my own money and warned anyone who would listen.

[P4man]

Deflecting again are we? I dont remember payb.tc ever trying to increase his profits by lending credibility to pirate's business by pretending to know more than others, implying to understand  how it worked or attacking and ridiculing whistle blowers.

I cant say the same about you.

[P4man]

whis·tle-blow·er   [hwis-uhl-bloh-er, wis-] 
noun
A person who informs  another or makes public disclosure of mismanagement, corruption, illegality, or some other wrongdoing.

at·tack   [uh-tak] 
verb (used with object)
4.
to direct unfavorable criticism against; criticize severely; argue with strongly: He attacked his opponent's statement.

Now, do I really need to quote you (again)?

You're not the only PPT operator guilty of propping up pirate's credibility and trying to silence and ridicule any whistle-blowers. You are probably not even the worst, but you just dont know when to keep your mouth shut. You so crave "respect", if you want to get any ounce of respect then stop denying what everyone can read, stop pointing fingers at everyone else and start by offering an apology to everyone you helped convince of Pirate's legitimacy and everyone you insulted and ridiculed for pointing out this scam.

[P4man]

I would like to know who was on the inside of pirates operation and come out with proof, or hell, even some evidence that it was a ponzi.

7% per week and insolvency. No further evidence is needed.  Claiming something is a ponzi is the same as claiming there is no business model, no profit generator. You cant prove a negative,  its up to those who claimed it was not a ponzi but a legitimate business model that they knew and understood to demonstrate there was indeed one,  or at the very least that there could have been one that explained the 7%.

People like you who just yell ponzi are not whistle blowers... That is more like trolling since you have no evidence at all.

Quite the opposite. You shouted over and over it wasnt a ponzi, that implies you knew there was a business model behind it that could explain the 7%, but people such as yourself always claimed not to want to reveal it. So reveal it now, because all those posts of you, Imsaguy and tons of other pirate supporters are the only thing that lead to some credibility of pirate's business. Asbent that very vocal support, precious few people would have believed Pirate could possibly generate such returns and this thing would have collapsed a year ago. The onus has always been on Pirate and the Pro pirate team to prove there was a source of revenue for that 7% per week.   Absence of that would automatically mean it was a ponzi.

BTW there are claims pirate is paying out on IRC. I have not personally verified that to be true but some people I trust have said they have.

Im holding my breath.

[c0in$]

I would like to know who was on the inside of pirates operation and come out with proof, or hell, even some evidence that it was a ponzi.

7% per week and insolvency. No further evidence is needed.  Claiming something is a ponzi is the same as claiming there is no business model, no profit generator. You cant prove a negative,  its up to those who claimed it was not a ponzi but a legitimate business model that they knew and understood to demonstrate there was indeed one,  or at the very least that there could have been one that explained the 7%.

People like you who just yell ponzi are not whistle blowers... That is more like trolling since you have no evidence at all.

Quite the opposite. You shouted over and over it wasnt a ponzi, that implies you knew there was a business model behind it that could explain the 7%, but people such as yourself always claimed not to want to reveal it. So reveal it now, because all those posts of you, Imsaguy and tons of other pirate supporters are the only thing that lead to some credibility of pirate's business. Asbent that very vocal support, precious few people would have believed Pirate could possibly generate such returns and this thing would have collapsed a year ago. The onus has always been on Pirate and the Pro pirate team to prove there was a source of revenue for that 7% per week.   Absence of that would automatically mean it was a ponzi.

BTW there are claims pirate is paying out on IRC. I have not personally verified that to be true but some people I trust have said they have.

Im holding my breath.

P4Man you may be interested in placing an escrowed bet that Pirate will not repay his debts to earn some easy money.  I am accepting 1:3.5 odds at this time but will hear any offers.  https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=104494.0

[dirtycat]

did that zhoutong character ever get his scammer tag?

if not I doubt this pirate kat will ever get one.

[Dalkore]

whis·tle-blow·er   [hwis-uhl-bloh-er, wis-] 
noun
A person who informs  another or makes public disclosure of mismanagement, corruption, illegality, or some other wrongdoing.

at·tack   [uh-tak] 
verb (used with object)
4.
to direct unfavorable criticism against; criticize severely; argue with strongly: He attacked his opponent's statement.

Now, do I really need to quote you (again)?

You're not the only PPT operator guilty of propping up pirate's credibility and trying to silence and ridicule any whistle-blowers. You are probably not even the worst, but you just dont know when to keep your mouth shut. You so crave "respect", if you want to get any ounce of respect then stop denying what everyone can read, stop pointing fingers at everyone else and start by offering an apology to everyone you helped convince of Pirate's legitimacy and everyone you insulted and ridiculed for pointing out this scam.

I would like to know who was on the inside of pirates operation and come out with proof, or hell, even some evidence that it was a ponzi.

People like you who just yell ponzi are not whistle blowers... That is more like trolling since you have no evidence at all.

BTW there are claims pirate is paying out on IRC. I have not personally verified that to be true but some people I trust have said they have.

I did want to weigh in because I see both points from P4man and Goat.  Once you do an "investigation" then we can confidently use tags like "ponzi" in this case.   Fraud would be a better word to use at this point.  Promising 7% weekly (with compound option) interested on a fixed currency shows someone who does not understand exponents and this I would see as the core mis-statement I would use to justify this being a "fraud".  At this point I bet many people have gone back and edited many of their posts, but I do know there was a core group of influential members on this board that would go away anyone opening posting doubt about this investment scheme.   It reminded me of a cliche. 

Using the lack of evidence as a defense is something I have seen governments use in cover-ups. It doesn't help in this situation because of the group mentality of people who defended this operation and had a personally vested interest in a positive outcome.

The evidence is clear, a far majority of people are owed vast sums of real or made-up gains.   We do have a few people who said quite frankly that they knew "exactly" what Pirate was doing to made these gains and swore secrecy to protect the operation.   I find these people just as guilty and if they were to come public and make a statement for the record, it would help restore their reputation imho. 

In closing, I believe this is a Fraud at this point until new creditable evidence to the contrary surfaces.   The admin should take some action on his account and looking into his other operation because they are both linked through the same person.

.02

[Bitcoin Oz]

A couple of other scammy operations used trusted forum members to raise thousands of coins. Specifically Bitcoindaytrade,bitcoinrebate and others. I believe pirate did the same thing.

Im sure the next scammer to come along will use the same trick.

[Snapman]

Rinse and repeat, the bitcoin order of things.

[Justin00]

whats with you people and the scammer tag ?

I know I shouldn't assume... but I think its safe to say 99% of people who steal stuff really don't care if they have the scammer tag.

[Herodes]

A couple of other scammy operations used trusted forum members to raise thousands of coins. Specifically Bitcoindaytrade,bitcoinrebate and others. I believe pirate did the same thing.

Im sure the next scammer to come along will use the same trick.

Yes, a list of some of the members contributing to Pirateat40 operations (giving him good ratings) can be found at http://bitcoin-otc.com/viewratingdetail.php?nick=pirateat40&sign=ANY&type=RECV

A good WOT-rating should not be trusted blindly, do your due diligence.

Personally I would never do business with 'reputable' forum members that's fallen for the Pirateat40-scam.

Exercise caution, and err on the safe side, and the risk of losing bitcoins are greatly minimized, you may lose some trades over this, and people may call you paranoid and overly cautious, but when coins are lost, they are lost. I rather want not to lose coins than donating it to criminals.