Butterflylabs Huge SCAM

[Snagglebone]

So....

• the FTC came in and stopped the company trading
• The FTC then appointed a receiver who charged 7 figure sums a month, while not allowing shipments to customers
• The FTC failed to prove what they wanted to.
• The FTC bankrupts BFL.
• The FTC 'wins' by getting them to pay $4000......
• BFL loses its company in the process
• Any and all customers are left with $0 or hardware

*slow clap*

most accurate summary i hve seen so far.

[notbatman]

Hidden assets? Didn't some customers lose millions in USD had mined coins been flipped at the right times etc? Problems with withholding and usage of money printing hardware prior to excessively late delivery or non-delivery/no-refund to the mint are normally a serious infraction of the law. It seems like there's a double standard here with digital currency. Currently 2.8 BTC buys an Oz of gold or about $1200 USD.

[OgNasty]

So....

• the FTC came in and stopped the company trading
• The FTC then appointed a receiver who charged 7 figure sums a month, while not allowing shipments to customers
• The FTC failed to prove what they wanted to.
• The FTC bankrupts BFL.
• The FTC 'wins' by getting them to pay $4000......
• BFL loses its company in the process
• Any and all customers are left with $0 or hardware

*slow clap*

most accurate summary i hve seen so far.

Yes.  The FTC thought they would step in and save the day for all the BFL customers.  Instead they showed why most of us believe the government is a useless leech.  The fact they could only get $4,000 from this case and those involved are still walking among us is nothing short of a disgrace. 

[RoadStress]

Does anyone know how many BTC had the FTC requested from BFL?

[Snagglebone]

So....

• the FTC came in and stopped the company trading
• The FTC then appointed a receiver who charged 7 figure sums a month, while not allowing shipments to customers
• The FTC failed to prove what they wanted to.
• The FTC bankrupts BFL.
• The FTC 'wins' by getting them to pay $4000......
• BFL loses its company in the process
• Any and all customers are left with $0 or hardware

*slow clap*

most accurate summary i hve seen so far.

Yes.  People thought the FTC would step in and save the day.  Instead they showed why the people should have known the government is a useless leech and stole what remaining money the customers might have gotten back.

FTFY

[dogie]

So....

• the FTC came in and stopped the company trading
• The FTC then appointed a receiver who charged 7 figure sums a month, while not allowing shipments to customers
• The FTC failed to prove what they wanted to.
• The FTC bankrupts BFL.
• The FTC 'wins' by getting them to pay $4000......
• BFL loses its company in the process
• Any and all customers are left with $0 or hardware

*slow clap*

most accurate summary i hve seen so far.

*edited quote*
Yes.  People thought the FTC would step in and save the day.  Instead they showed why the people should have known the government is a useless leech and stole what remaining money the customers might have gotten back.

FTFY

The FTC didn't even make a recovery, it was the local receiver and his contractors (whom he paid ridiculous amounts to) that recovered the only money. Meanwhile the taxpayer footed the bill for the FTC, its contractors, its multiple lawyers, the court, the judge, the prematurely lost jobs, the loss of tax revenue. All BFL customers lost, including those that were receiving cloud mining, already made hardware, soon to be made hardware and those in the refund queue. Even those customers who filed a class action via Wood Law got screwed by the FTC.

I'm pretty surprised that Helen W(r)ong wasn't fired for bringing this case in a situation where the people she was claiming to protect had zero chance of benefiting from her actions. She's now spinning herself as a bitcoin aficionado and doing TED talks, its rather sick. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6PAazB5_f4

[notbatman]

You know there's a cliche at play here "always look at the brighter side of life" or is that monty python?

a) I've never ordered a BFL product.

b) This guy is a Romanian Scammer (pro-tip hide your money):


Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/prince-charles/9656769/Prince-Charles-heir-to-Draculas-blood-line.html

c) The Earth is fucking flat.

d) Imagine what you'll know tomorrow as a result of Application Specific Integrated Circuits?



e) Having no dog in this fight I must say there was some feeling of "stress relief" watching the FTC fairy swat BFL with a blunt object.

[Gleb Gamow]

You know there's a cliche at play here "always look at the brighter side of life" or is that monty python?

a) I've never ordered a BFL product.

b) This guy is a Romanian Scammer (pro-tip hide your money):


Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/prince-charles/9656769/Prince-Charles-heir-to-Draculas-blood-line.html

c) The Earth is fucking flat.

d) Imagine what you'll know tomorrow as a result of Application Specific Integrated Circuits?



e) Having no dog in this fight I must say there was some feeling of "stress relief" watching the FTC fairy swat BFL with a blunt object.

Meanwhile, the YouTube videos I choose to watch are presenting me ads of iFLY in Kansas for some fucked up reason. I swear I thought I recognized one of the dudes in the commercial playing with the kids.

The follow review is what I would love to read:

Aime B: I just took the kids to McDonald's and the new guy named Josh was so kind to us, especially the kids. I'm glad that McD's hires those special to sweep the floors and clean the toilets. I was so amazed with him, I struck up a conversation and asked how long does he plan on staying with McD's. He said two weeks, give or take a lifetime.

[insoolinreaktion]

Great! The FTC is also allowing Sonny Vleisides to father future scammers. The count's now up to three.

Does the last name of Angela Gambino Chambers do anything for you fellow sleuths? No, not the middle name, albeit that, too, elicits emotions, but not as lofty.

I am not surprised this criminal was busy procreating. With all the BTC he funneled...

[Gleb Gamow]

Great! The FTC is also allowing Sonny Vleisides to father future scammers. The count's now up to three.

Does the last name of Angela Gambino Chambers do anything for you fellow sleuths? No, not the middle name, albeit that, too, elicits emotions, but not as lofty.

I am not surprised this criminal was busy procreating. With all the BTC he funneled...

Yeah, but he won't be able to procreate for long given his health issues. Soon, Sonny Vleisides will be in a wheelchair just like he real dad was the last time he entered a courtroom and while he served out the rest of his life in prison.

[insoolinreaktion]

So....

• the FTC came in and stopped the company trading
• The FTC then appointed a receiver who charged 7 figure sums a month, while not allowing shipments to customers
• The FTC failed to prove what they wanted to.
• The FTC bankrupts BFL.
• The FTC 'wins' by getting them to pay $4000......
• BFL loses its company in the process
• Any and all customers are left with $0 or hardware

*slow clap*

most accurate summary i hve seen so far.

Yes.  People thought the FTC would step in and save the day.  Instead they showed why the people should have known the government is a useless leech and stole what remaining money the customers might have gotten back.

FTFY

Nice to see ya back snagglebone. Where have ya been? At the courthouse, perhaps? https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1022931.msg12916504#msg12916504

[Gleb Gamow]

So....

• the FTC came in and stopped the company trading
• The FTC then appointed a receiver who charged 7 figure sums a month, while not allowing shipments to customers
• The FTC failed to prove what they wanted to.
• The FTC bankrupts BFL.
• The FTC 'wins' by getting them to pay $4000......
• BFL loses its company in the process
• Any and all customers are left with $0 or hardware

*slow clap*

most accurate summary i hve seen so far.

Yes.  People thought the FTC would step in and save the day.  Instead they showed why the people should have known the government is a useless leech and stole what remaining money the customers might have gotten back.

FTFY

Nice to see ya back snagglebone. Where have ya been? At the courthouse, perhaps? https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1022931.msg12916504#msg12916504

The Linux daemon works fine. I have it running on several servers without any problems at all. I haven't tried any GUI interface for it, though, so maybe it has problems?

Maybe he's been busy manning his now non-ringing phone, then on the day that iFLY called, he totally forgot about this place as he donned his rainbow-color flysuit and headed down to iFLY to give his long-awaited interview.

[Gleb Gamow]

anything going on with the court case against BFL yet (so out of the loop)

I thought it was over now. Is there a new case in a different court?

er huh? so far out of the loop ...if all is done and settled what was the outcome?

(i assume no one went to jail or lost their $$$ just bfl corp got hit....or I'd have heard about such)

I suppose I should use 'google' or something instead ..but jeez you'd think there would be something new about anything of note on this thread?


well I did trip over this

http://www.butterflylabs.com/current_refund_efforts/

basically 1/18/16 the FTC was a 'meanie' to BTC and they lost all their money on legal fees etc ...so don't blame them (the victim bfl) blame FTC! (sheesh) or what I take away from it.

http://www.butterflylabs.com/current_refund_efforts/

Once again, we are working on solutions that will allow us to resume providing refunds as soon as possible.

Thanks for your patience.

You are so welcome, Sonny Vleisides. BTW, how's the queue position working out for the last time an entity of yours folded up shop with its investors waiting for your promised refunds? For those playing at home, the answer is still zero (as in 0 for those into real numbers and not worded numbers). BitcoinTalks' very own Johann Gevers - https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=67553 - conducted the audit shown here: http://web.archive.org/web/20030603182935/http://www.lfcfa.com/founders/index.html

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

Posted: Friday, August 12, 2011 11:27 PM  
Joined: 10/12/2010
Posts: 5783


Posted: 10/25/2003 5:01:51 PM

By: Simon Jester

Privacy and security brought to you by the funniest clowns since the Keystone Kops!

https://www.liquidprivacy.net/ another LFC "insider" spinoff site
also runs
https://194.109.142.142:1984/
called Distributed City. They are looking for "High net worth Sovereigns", I wonder why?

http://www.lfcfa.com/ the joke site set up by Adam Selene to stall founders,
maybe not such a joke because they got all quiverchinned and weak kneed with gratitude over it.

http://www.lfcfa.com/founders/index.html the excuse page, used to have a really nice section
telling people NOT to trust the security of Mailvault. Must have dawned on em that it would be hard to sell
when even the putative owners admitted it was a leaky piece of garbage. Took 5 servers to run? And it still failed, often.
Got something you want the whole world to know? Use Mailvault!


http://www.lfcfa.com/financials/notes.html The very hilarious admission of embezzlement and other
damaging statements.
For security _experts_ these guys are so far beyond bad that the light from bad is gonna take a year to get there.
They hired a IRS revenue agent to help them with security! Perhaps the fed can give them references?
It's not like they can use LFC as an example of good work ethic and skills.

Then there is Wolf DeVoon, a wannabe lawyer and his site, where he places himself alongside
some literary giants is a fascinating study in ego pathology. There has to be name for this disease but I can't stop laughing long enough to look it up. This site just begs for a student
shrink to write a thesis.
http://www.organic-law.com/wolf.html

The soulful pictures of a luser who has left a trail of unpaid debts and broken promises are just too much!

Oh wait! I have some similarly soulful photos of Houston, before the cocaine stole his boyish looks.
There he sits, staring off into a future just filled with other peoples money. Brings a tear to your eye.
Anyone want to see them?
When compared to the after pics...excuse ME.. er.. wedding pictures taken last year. Well, the
antidrug program missed a sure thing when they passed these up. Talk about scared straight!

Screen shots of all these sites have been saved in case they "somehow" vanish. The Laissez Faire City programmers
just can't seem to keep anything up and running. It's a mystery.

Keep in mind that none of the real estate showed up on the audit and a ton of cash is missing too.
I wonder if the insiders have it buried in a backyard? Tempts me to grab a shovel and head
down to Nosara in Costa Rica, see what I could dig up!
Some of the insiders sure travel a lot, sometimes under false names. Homeland security seems not to be on top
of that. Or the money systems used for anonymous funds transfers, run from the middle east no less.
I bet some journalist could make a big stink over THAT!
I bet some journalist does!

[QuestionAuthority]

I wonder how many ill gotten Bitcoins Zerlan used to buy his Tesla.

Oh my God, he has a Tesla? I'm so jealous. I wanted a Model X but couldn't quite come up with the $137,000 they wanted for it.

[Gleb Gamow]

I wonder how many ill gotten Bitcoins Zerlan used to buy his Tesla.

Oh my God, he has a Tesla? I'm so jealous. I wanted a Model X but couldn't quite come up with the $137,000 they wanted for it.

I ordered a Model T-X, but have to wait for all the <black> confirmations to come in before I can take delivery. Meanwhile, at iFLY, everyday is now Rainbow Poodle Day.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-PPcDATITE&feature=youtu.be&t=250

I surrender!  

[STT]

Meanwhile the taxpayer footed the bill for the FTC, its contractors, its multiple lawyers, the court, the judge, the prematurely lost jobs, the loss of tax revenue. All BFL customers lost, including those that were receiving cloud mining, already made hardware, soon to be made hardware and those in the refund queue. Even those customers who filed a class action via Wood Law got screwed by the FTC.

Chapter 11 not apply to proceedings ?   The Tax man always comes first of a queue every other case Ive seen.  Ive no idea why a private business is the concern and cost of government to clear up, they sold internationally as well so seems any USA customer got screwed twice over there

[Gleb Gamow]

Meanwhile the taxpayer footed the bill for the FTC, its contractors, its multiple lawyers, the court, the judge, the prematurely lost jobs, the loss of tax revenue. All BFL customers lost, including those that were receiving cloud mining, already made hardware, soon to be made hardware and those in the refund queue. Even those customers who filed a class action via Wood Law got screwed by the FTC.

Chapter 11 not apply to proceedings ?   The Tax man always comes first of a queue every other case Ive seen.  Ive no idea why a private business is the concern and cost of government to clear up, they sold internationally as well so seems any USA customer got screwed twice over there

Rest assured that the IRS is investigating how BFL was able to write off a gambling debt unrelated to them but stemmed from Josh Zerlan of which I have the proof here in monumental asshole hands in the form of a 1099-Misc form. If BFL was willing to lower their tax liability due to a confirmed bogus ~$7K outlay, the IRS is wise enough to realize that other much larger bogus deductions were probably falsely submitted.

[Phildo]

The moral of the story, as always, you are better off not giving your coins/money to scumbags instead of giving  your money to scumbags and hoping someone will come to your rescue.

And I really hope none of you geniuses think or ever thought there would be any other result from this. They were never shipping shit, they were never refunding shit. They are conmen and they took your money.

[QuestionAuthority]

The moral of the story, as always, you are better off not giving your coins/money to scumbags instead of giving  your money to scumbags and hoping someone will come to your rescue.

And I really hope none of you geniuses think or ever thought there would be any other result from this. They were never shipping shit, they were never refunding shit. They are conmen and they took your money.

That's not even the funny part. The real laugh riot is when a bunch of antigovernment, anarchist, libertarian, save the world Bitcoiners have to seek the assistance of the very government they're fighting against to correct their mistakes.

My absolute faves are the anarchists I used to talk to on this forum that believe in limited government and self reliance but were the first to cry to the government when pirate@40 fucked them over. ROFL

[Gleb Gamow]

The moral of the story, as always, you are better off not giving your coins/money to scumbags instead of giving  your money to scumbags and hoping someone will come to your rescue.

And I really hope none of you geniuses think or ever thought there would be any other result from this. They were never shipping shit, they were never refunding shit. They are conmen and they took your money.

But... but... but... Sonny Vleisides was on a new track... And... and... and... Josh Zerlan could see BFL's office address outside his office window from the bank he was employed at, so he walked downstairs, crossed the street and snapped some pics, then posted the pics informing bitcoiners that BFL's for-real so no need to come to KC to check them out because he did the due diligence... And that's how a person who earns $50K/yr can pay cash for a U$500K+ BTC-House.