Find Trendon Shavers in person thread... [BTCST, BTS&T, pirateat40]

[SebastianJu]

Well Trendon Shavers is officially fooked! The SEC nabbed him today

https://www.sec.gov/servlet/Satellite/News/PressRelease/Detail/PressRelease/1370539730583#.Ue6-II2sh8G

Great... thats some news... lets hope this leads to less scams in bitcoin world. Its needed for sure.

[escrow.ms]

Well Trendon Shavers is officially fooked! The SEC nabbed him today

https://www.sec.gov/servlet/Satellite/News/PressRelease/Detail/PressRelease/1370539730583#.Ue6-II2sh8G

Great... thats some news... lets hope this leads to less scams in bitcoin world. Its needed for sure.

Nice news, Looks like he will come back from jail after 40 lol

[Cablez]

Well Trendon Shavers is officially fooked! The SEC nabbed him today

https://www.sec.gov/servlet/Satellite/News/PressRelease/Detail/PressRelease/1370539730583#.Ue6-II2sh8G

Interesting. I had given up hope that anything would have been done to him. I find it surprising that he was still in the country though.

[Buffer Overflow]

pirateat40

pirateatjail
 

Pirate, have you ever made love to a man? You will be soon.....

[Tomatocage]

Is he actually in custody?

[iCEBREAKER]

Well Trendon Shavers is officially fooked! The SEC nabbed him today

https://www.sec.gov/servlet/Satellite/News/PressRelease/Detail/PressRelease/1370539730583#.Ue6-II2sh8G

Great... thats some news... lets hope this leads to less scams in bitcoin world. Its needed for sure.

Nice news, Looks like he will come back from jail after 40 lol

Maybe he'll post from jail?

New account: inmate@40

 

[Rawted]

Awesome news.

SEC Charges Texas Man With Running Bitcoin-Denominated Ponzi Scheme
  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2013-132 Washington D.C., July 23, 2013 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a Texas man and his company with defrauding investors in a Ponzi scheme involving Bitcoin, a virtual currency traded on online exchanges for conventional currencies like the U.S. dollar or used to purchase goods or services online.
The SEC alleges that Trendon T. Shavers, who is the founder and operator of Bitcoin Savings and Trust (BTCST), offered and sold Bitcoin-denominated investments through the Internet using the monikers “Pirate” and “pirateat40.”  Shavers raised at least 700,000 Bitcoin in BTCST investments, which amounted to more than $4.5 million based on the average price of Bitcoin in 2011 and 2012 when the investments were offered and sold.  Today the value of 700,000 Bitcoin exceeds $60 million.

The SEC alleges that Shavers promised investors up to 7 percent weekly interest based on BTCST’s Bitcoin market arbitrage activity, which supposedly included selling to individuals who wished to buy Bitcoin “off the radar” in quick fashion or large quantities.  In reality, BTCST was a sham and a Ponzi scheme in which Shavers used Bitcoin from new investors to make purported interest payments and cover investor withdrawals on outstanding BTCST investments.  Shavers also diverted investors’ Bitcoin for day trading in his account on a Bitcoin currency exchange, and exchanged investors’ Bitcoin for U.S. dollars to pay his personal expenses.

The SEC issued an investor alert today warning investors about the dangers of potential investment scams involving virtual currencies promoted through the Internet.

“Fraudsters are not beyond the reach of the SEC just because they use Bitcoin or another virtual currency to mislead investors and violate the federal securities laws,” said Andrew M. Calamari, Director of the SEC’s New York Regional Office.  “Shavers preyed on investors in an online forum by claiming his investments carried no risk and huge profits for them while his true intentions were rooted in nothing more than personal greed.”

According to the SEC’s complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Shavers sold BTCST investments over the Internet to investors in such states as Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.  Shavers posted general solicitations on a website dedicated to Bitcoin discussions, and he misled investors with such false assurances about his investment opportunity as “It’s growing, it’s growing!” and “I have yet to come close to taking a loss on any deal,” and “risk is almost 0.”  Contrary to the representations made to investors, BTCST was not in the business of buying and selling Bitcoin at all.

The SEC alleges that Shavers, who lives in McKinney, Texas, paid 507,148 Bitcoin in investor withdrawals and purported interest payments.  He transferred at least 150,649 Bitcoin to his personal account at an online Bitcoin currency exchange.  Shavers suffered a net loss from his day trading, but realized net proceeds of $164,758 from his sales of 86,202 Bitcoin.  Shavers transferred $147,102 from his personal account at the online Bitcoin currency exchange to accounts he controlled at an online payment processor as well as his personal checking account.  He used this money to pay his rent, utilities, and car-related expenses as well as for food and retail purchases and gambling.

The SEC’s complaint charges Shavers and BTCST with offering and selling investments in violation of the anti-fraud and registration provisions of the securities laws, specifically Sections 5(a), 5(c) and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Exchange Act Rule 10b-5.  The SEC is seeking a court order to freeze the assets of Shavers and BTCST in addition to other relief, including permanent injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest, and financial penalties.

The SEC’s investor alert, prepared by the agency’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, recommends that investors be wary of so-called investment opportunities that promise high rates of return with little or no risk, especially when dealing with unregistered, Internet-based investments sold by unlicensed promoters.

“Ponzi scheme operators often claim to have a tie to a new and emerging technology as a lure to potential victims,” said Lori J. Schock, Director of the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy.  “Investors should understand that regardless of the type of investment, a promise of high returns with little or no risk is a classic warning sign of fraud.”

[theymos]

I'm amazed that he was so careless. If I stole that much money, I'd spend a large chunk of it on hiding myself.

[Raoul Duke]

I'm amazed that he was so careless. If I stole that much money, I'd spend a large chunk of it on hiding myself.

jail will still be the best outcome for him, if he manages to look over his shoulder and doesn't drop the soap too often...

[Listener]

A great day! 

But also do not forget:
Without a government "service" like the SEC, nothing would have happened!

That is pointed towards some tea party supporters here who would like to have no government... 

[btceic]

looks like we have a copycat: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=261350.0;topicseen

[pheaonix]

A great day! 

But also do not forget:
Without a government "service" like the SEC, nothing would have happened!

That is pointed towards some tea party supporters here who would like to have no government... 

without govt there would be no fear of hunting him neither. he was right where we knew he was.

[wachtwoord]

A great day! 

But also do not forget:
Without a government "service" like the SEC, nothing would have happened!

That is pointed towards some tea party supporters here who would like to have no government... 

without govt there would be no fear of hunting him neither. he was right where we knew he was.

This. Without a government he'd be long gone.

[SebastianJu]

Youre sure? Without government he would have bought his private army and would be invincible. Done...

The governtment is, or at least should be, the power of the people. And the people dont want such things happen. Thats the way. And yes, i know the governments are perverted forms of what it should be. But still better then without.

[wachtwoord]

Youre sure? Without government he would have bought his private army and would be invincible. Done...

The governtment is, or at least should be, the power of the people. And the people dont want such things happen. Thats the way. And yes, i know the governments are perverted forms of what it should be. But still better then without.

And then they lived happily ever after...

Governments are amoung the worst kind of evils that exist. And people actually love how they abuse them.

[SebastianJu]

Youre sure? Without government he would have bought his private army and would be invincible. Done...

The governtment is, or at least should be, the power of the people. And the people dont want such things happen. Thats the way. And yes, i know the governments are perverted forms of what it should be. But still better then without.

And then they lived happily ever after...

Governments are amoung the worst kind of evils that exist. And people actually love how they abuse them.

Like i said, i know how abused governments are nowadays. But im pretty sure that i dont want to go back to the times of "the right of the strongest".

[wachtwoord]

Youre sure? Without government he would have bought his private army and would be invincible. Done...

The governtment is, or at least should be, the power of the people. And the people dont want such things happen. Thats the way. And yes, i know the governments are perverted forms of what it should be. But still better then without.

And then they lived happily ever after...

Governments are amoung the worst kind of evils that exist. And people actually love how they abuse them.

Like i said, i know how abused governments are nowadays. But im pretty sure that i dont want to go back to the times of "the right of the strongest".

There has been progress since then both socially and technologically. Something much more efficient will come to be once we pass this plateau caused by the existence of nations states and nationalists.

We already have right of the strongest. It's just a twisted, inefficient non-transparent version of it.

[SebastianJu]

Youre sure? Without government he would have bought his private army and would be invincible. Done...

The governtment is, or at least should be, the power of the people. And the people dont want such things happen. Thats the way. And yes, i know the governments are perverted forms of what it should be. But still better then without.

And then they lived happily ever after...

Governments are amoung the worst kind of evils that exist. And people actually love how they abuse them.

Like i said, i know how abused governments are nowadays. But im pretty sure that i dont want to go back to the times of "the right of the strongest".

There has been progress since then both socially and technologically. Something much more efficient will come to be once we pass this plateau caused by the existence of nations states and nationalists.

We already have right of the strongest. It's just a twisted, inefficient non-transparent version of it.

Yes, progress. But only the state is the gathering point for the will of the people. How will you replace this? And if you think that people will behave fine only because government is away then please check out what happens when police/government doesnt go in certain areas anymore because they risk their life in there. Other laws apply there and you wont live under then. Even communities of moral people tend to break at some point because one or another thinks he has rights to take for the loss of others. Its simply not the case that all people are so high developed that they can function without a "brain" for the whole organism.

[pheaonix]

Youre sure? Without government he would have bought his private army and would be invincible. Done...

The governtment is, or at least should be, the power of the people. And the people dont want such things happen. Thats the way. And yes, i know the governments are perverted forms of what it should be. But still better then without.

And then they lived happily ever after...

Governments are amoung the worst kind of evils that exist. And people actually love how they abuse them.

Like i said, i know how abused governments are nowadays. But im pretty sure that i dont want to go back to the times of "the right of the strongest".

There has been progress since then both socially and technologically. Something much more efficient will come to be once we pass this plateau caused by the existence of nations states and nationalists.

We already have right of the strongest. It's just a twisted, inefficient non-transparent version of it.

Yes, progress. But only the state is the gathering point for the will of the people. How will you replace this? And if you think that people will behave fine only because government is away then please check out what happens when police/government doesnt go in certain areas anymore because they risk their life in there. Other laws apply there and you wont live under then. Even communities of moral people tend to break at some point because one or another thinks he has rights to take for the loss of others. Its simply not the case that all people are so high developed that they can function without a "brain" for the whole organism.

you have little imagination if you cannot envision a world without a government babysitting it. each function it serves can be replaced with free market options. cops would be paid according to how well they protect people, road workers how well they maintain the roads etc etc. also instead of the lengthy judicial system i would suppose another system: a system whereby whomever is harmed or taken advantage of is made whole by the forced labor of the person who committed the crime.

[wachtwoord]

Youre sure? Without government he would have bought his private army and would be invincible. Done...

The governtment is, or at least should be, the power of the people. And the people dont want such things happen. Thats the way. And yes, i know the governments are perverted forms of what it should be. But still better then without.

And then they lived happily ever after...

Governments are amoung the worst kind of evils that exist. And people actually love how they abuse them.

Like i said, i know how abused governments are nowadays. But im pretty sure that i dont want to go back to the times of "the right of the strongest".

There has been progress since then both socially and technologically. Something much more efficient will come to be once we pass this plateau caused by the existence of nations states and nationalists.

We already have right of the strongest. It's just a twisted, inefficient non-transparent version of it.

Yes, progress. But only the state is the gathering point for the will of the people. How will you replace this? And if you think that people will behave fine only because government is away then please check out what happens when police/government doesnt go in certain areas anymore because they risk their life in there. Other laws apply there and you wont live under then. Even communities of moral people tend to break at some point because one or another thinks he has rights to take for the loss of others. Its simply not the case that all people are so high developed that they can function without a "brain" for the whole organism.

It will be distributed. The huge flaw is the whole centralization in the first place. Decentralized systems which evolve and are not planned in advance by humans are superior.

Also I wouldn't consider the government to be the gathering point for the will of the people. I consider it the smoke and mirrors of those with power who would lose that (partly) when the market was more free.

All the other questions are answered by entrepeneurs. If there is a need something will develop.