Re: Butterfly Labs CEO 25 Million USD Mail Fraud — A Concise Summary of Evidence

[Inaba]

Yeah, if BFL had only produced some revolutionary products already, it would lead some more credence to the whole venture.

[Viceroy]

Bullshit.  This is the guy who was asking for 25BTC to form an LLC to start a bank for medical marijuana sellers. https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=106562.msg1170935#msg1170935

Yep, was and am... live in Colorado... have the cash...  offer stands to purchase 35 super computers from Butterfly Labs.

[Viceroy]

So besides the fact that their website says "Butterfly Labs is a manufacturing facility and is not setup for product pickup" and besides that fact that you're probably lying, their page for the info about the ASIC release says:

Will you limit supply to would be 51% attackers? We absolutely will not knowingly sell hardware to a client if we feel they pose a threat to any network (and 32 rigs is too many for 1 person to own).

And several people have posted their address already lol.

Also...

Fine, let's make it 30 machines.  I have no interest in a 51% attack.  I am offering $900,000 for 30 machines.  I am happy to meet anywhere on the planet to pick these up.  It does not need to be at the manufacturing facility.  I will extend the offer to anyone who can meet their specs since Butterfly Labs has not responded to a one million dollar offer to purchase their product.  I will make this a bounty....
 
$900,000 US  bounty -> https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=113543.0

[repentance]

Yeah, if BFL had only produced some revolutionary products already, it would lead some more credence to the whole venture.

Regardless of past successes, start ups - and even well-established companies with substantial resources - can and do fail on the basis of a single product.  You know that as well as I do.

The best thing BFL can do right now is deliver its new products on time and up to the standard promised.  Nobody's going to complain if BFL delivers more than it's promised - doing just that is how companies establish a reputation for excellence.

[tvbcof]

The only way for a felon ex-convict to make it these days is to be an entrepreneur, because few if any will employ him for anything more than unskilled labor wages regardless of his actual skills or use of them on the job.

I am not saying this treatment is entirely undeserved, however our streets are becoming filled with people like this who can not take care of themselves, their families and responsibilities, which leaves it up to you and me to take care of them. They still need to breed, eat, and sleep, and work needs to provide this for them. Not taxes. I would much rather they do it for themselves, contributing to society and taking care of their responsibilities, while not placing any of the burden on the rest of us.

Unless you believe in the death penalty for crimes like Sonny did, you pretty much need to believe in the possibility of rehabilitation.

I think that most employers will hire anyone who can make them money.  That's my personal experience at least.  The recidivism rate for felons is such that even a reasonably talented person who could do a good job is a risk to an employer.  'Free market' bitches...suck it up.

[makomk]

Yeah, if BFL had only produced some revolutionary products already, it would lead some more credence to the whole venture.

Revolutionary? You built a Bitcoin mining FPGA board using an off-the-shelf FPGA, and screwed up your power estimates so it didn't even work the first time round. That's hardly revolutionary. I don't think you were even the first on the market; certainly other development teams (including the one I was bashing on bitstreams for a bit) were ahead of you, seeing as they had actually tested their bitstreams on actual hardware and confirmed they could get the performance they were claiming - rather than making bullshit claims and failing to correct them well after they realised they were impossibe.

[Shadow383]

So besides the fact that their website says "Butterfly Labs is a manufacturing facility and is not setup for product pickup" and besides that fact that you're probably lying, their page for the info about the ASIC release says:

Will you limit supply to would be 51% attackers? We absolutely will not knowingly sell hardware to a client if we feel they pose a threat to any network (and 32 rigs is too many for 1 person to own).

And several people have posted their address already lol.

Also...

Fine, let's make it 30 machines.  I have no interest in a 51% attack.  I am offering $900,000 for 30 machines.  I am happy to meet anywhere on the planet to pick these up.  It does not need to be at the manufacturing facility.  I will extend the offer to anyone who can meet their specs since Butterfly Labs has not responded to a one million dollar offer to purchase their product.  I will make this a bounty....
 
$900,000 US  bounty -> https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=113543.0

I'm sure the avalon guys would do 30TH/s for $900k
Hell, actually, cablepair might well be able to do it for that given the size of the order 

[Inaba]

Yeah, if BFL had only produced some revolutionary products already, it would lead some more credence to the whole venture.

Revolutionary? You built a Bitcoin mining FPGA board using an off-the-shelf FPGA, and screwed up your power estimates so it didn't even work the first time round. That's hardly revolutionary. I don't think you were even the first on the market; certainly other development teams (including the one I was bashing on bitstreams for a bit) were ahead of you, seeing as they had actually tested their bitstreams on actual hardware and confirmed they could get the performance they were claiming - rather than making bullshit claims and failing to correct them well after they realised they were impossibe.

Right, because there were so many quality mining devices out there that both looked good, performed well and were affordable.  Oh wait, no there wasn't... and there still isn't.  Yes, revolutionary.  We offered a product that was stylish, performs better than the competition and is cheaper.  I'd call that revolutionary. 

Sounds like somone is angry they backed an inferior device.  You might want to read a book called "Predictably Irrational" by Dan Ariely.  It describes you fairly well, were you a subject in it?

[Viceroy]

Dear Inaba,


I'm sorry, did you miss my post?  I'm offering to buy $1MM of your machines.  I've emailed, called and sent you a PM about my post but I'm feeling like you must have missed it all because I've not yet heard from anyone at your company about taking my pending million dollar order and when I might be able to take delivery.  I've not yet heard from you, Inaba, or from BFL_Sonny... didn't you get my pm?

[niko]

Yeah, if BFL had only produced some revolutionary products already, it would lead some more credence to the whole venture.

Inaba, there were some very good and reasonable questions asked in this thread. Are you going to address them, or you will keep derailing the thread with irrelevant discussions?

[the_thing]

The only way for a felon ex-convict to make it these days is to be an entrepreneur, because few if any will employ him for anything more than unskilled labor wages regardless of his actual skills or use of them on the job.

I am not saying this treatment is entirely undeserved, however our streets are becoming filled with people like this who can not take care of themselves, their families and responsibilities, which leaves it up to you and me to take care of them. They still need to breed, eat, and sleep, and work needs to provide this for them. Not taxes. I would much rather they do it for themselves, contributing to society and taking care of their responsibilities, while not placing any of the burden on the rest of us.

Unless you believe in the death penalty for crimes like Sonny did, you pretty much need to believe in the possibility of rehabilitation.

Oh, you made me cry  Poor little criminal. I feel SO sorry for him. I mean, yes, he ripped hunderds of people off their life savings so they ended up poor and some of them maybe even homeless, but he still doesn't deserve to be poor himself. He needs a respectable job with a good salary and benefits.
/irony off

Come on, give me a break! There is a reason why nobody wants to employ ex-convicts! Employers are, unlike you, afraid of losing their money (or getting killed, raped, whatever). And we're not talking about a petty thief, a wife beater or a guy who crashed a car while drunk. He's a major league scammer, probably much worse than Pirate.

[elux]

Dear Inaba,

I'm sorry, did you miss my post?  I'm offering to buy $1MM of your machines.  I've emailed, called and sent you a PM about my post but I'm feeling like you must have missed it all because I've not yet heard from anyone at your company about taking my pending million dollar order and when I might be able to take delivery.  I've not yet heard from you, Inaba, or from BFL_Sonny... didn't you get my pm?

It seems they don't want your business if you make entirely reasonable demands and/or ask questions.

I have no idea if your offer is legitimate, but I don't get why they wouldn't spend 10 minutes to find out if it's a real offer.

Or at least write to decline your offer, if they are for some reason (technical/policy/production) unable accept your order.

You offer a small business a one million dollar contract, and they don't even reply. Another red light.

BFL comment please?

[EhVedadoOAnonimato]

Oh, you made me cry  Poor little criminal. I feel SO sorry for him. I mean, yes, he ripped hunderds of people off their life savings so they ended up poor and some of them maybe even homeless,

Come on, don't exaggerate. Nobody would spend their life savings on a "lottery".
Not saying it's OK to defraud, just that nobody became homeless due to this.

[greyhawk]

Oh, you made me cry  Poor little criminal. I feel SO sorry for him. I mean, yes, he ripped hunderds of people off their life savings so they ended up poor and some of them maybe even homeless,

Come on, don't exaggerate. Nobody would spend their life savings on a "lottery".
Not saying it's OK to defraud, just that nobody became homeless due to this.

Yes they did. If you'd read the actual court documents, you'd know this.

[Desolator]

Oh, you made me cry  Poor little criminal. I feel SO sorry for him. I mean, yes, he ripped hunderds of people off their life savings so they ended up poor and some of them maybe even homeless,

Come on, don't exaggerate. Nobody would spend their life savings on a "lottery".
Not saying it's OK to defraud, just that nobody became homeless due to this.

Especially the ones that won! Lol, jk.

[Rassah]

Dear Inaba,


I'm sorry, did you miss my post?  I'm offering to buy $1MM of your machines.  I've emailed, called and sent you a PM about my post but I'm feeling like you must have missed it all because I've not yet heard from anyone at your company about taking my pending million dollar order and when I might be able to take delivery.  I've not yet heard from you, Inaba, or from BFL_Sonny... didn't you get my pm?

Easy fix: Write them an e-mail or a message signed by a BTC address that has 100,000BTC on it. They'll get right on it then.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

I have ended my investigation on BFL. I feel that if for some reason they fail to follow through, enough information has been penned to hunt any concerns.

In good faith, I provided Josh my last real last name and physical mailing address of which is where I reside.

Peace, all.

~Bruno K~

[Viceroy]

Dear Inaba,


I'm sorry, did you miss my post?  I'm offering to buy $1MM of your machines.  I've emailed, called and sent you a PM about my post but I'm feeling like you must have missed it all because I've not yet heard from anyone at your company about taking my pending million dollar order and when I might be able to take delivery.  I've not yet heard from you, Inaba, or from BFL_Sonny... didn't you get my pm?

Easy fix: Write them an e-mail or a message signed by a BTC address that has 100,000BTC on it. They'll get right on it then.

Inaba replied to me in a pm offering to discuss my offer.  I will continue that discussion in private and report back when I hold the machine(s) in my hand(s).

[Syke]

I simply believe in people and in their ability to reform their ways.

All I saw from his message was excuses about how he was harrassed by the evil government "Only the government lost out", how innocent he was "My role was mostly as a software & license supplier", how unfair his sentencing would be ("federal system had a 97% conviction rate...  higher than the Russian courts under Stalin". Signing emails with a false name "Sonny K".

Whatever gave you the idea Sonny has reformed anything?

[Desolator]

Dear Inaba,


I'm sorry, did you miss my post?  I'm offering to buy $1MM of your machines.  I've emailed, called and sent you a PM about my post but I'm feeling like you must have missed it all because I've not yet heard from anyone at your company about taking my pending million dollar order and when I might be able to take delivery.  I've not yet heard from you, Inaba, or from BFL_Sonny... didn't you get my pm?

Easy fix: Write them an e-mail or a message signed by a BTC address that has 100,000BTC on it. They'll get right on it then.

Inaba replied to me in a pm offering to discuss my offer.  I will continue that discussion in private and report back when I hold the machine(s) in my hand(s).

Does he know you're a lying sack of crap though?