MPEx owner in danger of being extradited to US to face charges

[Herp]

I'd be one worried MPEx investor if I were one. Good thing I'm not

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-19/gambling-website-s-bitcoin-denominated-stock-draws-sec-inquiry.html

Gambling Website’s Bitcoin-Denominated Stock Draws SEC Inquiry
By Carter Dougherty Mar 20, 2014 6:01 AM GMT+0200
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Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg

Andrew Ceresney, the SEC’s enforcement director, said in January the agency is “very... Read More

The Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting a formal inquiry into an online gambling website’s Bitcoin-denominated stock sale after the agency signaled that such dealings may break U.S. laws.

The SEC sent a letter asking MPEx, an online exchange for Bitcoin-based trading, to provide contracts and other documents relating to SatoshiDice.com, according to a copy of the request posted on the website trilema.com.

Mircea Popescu, the MPEx operator to whom the letter was addressed, confirmed its receipt in an e-mail to Bloomberg News and said MPEx hasn’t broken any laws. The letter lists SatoshiDice as the topic of the inquiry without specifying what rules are at issue.

Andrew Ceresney, the SEC’s enforcement director, said in January the agency is “very focused” on whether Bitcoin-denominated stock exchanges are illegal. U.S. laws require securities-trading platforms to be licensed. The regulator’s decision to open an inquiry doesn’t mean its staff has concluded any rules were broken, according to the letter.

“You can invest in those companies with your Bitcoin online,” Ceresney said at a January conference. “And so the question is, are those unregistered exchanges or broker dealers operating in violation of the securities laws?”

John Nester, a spokesman for the regulator, said he couldn’t confirm or deny the existence of any inquiry.

SatoshiDice listed shares on MPEx in August 2012, according to an MPEx-affiliated website. The SEC letter seeks “all documents or contracts” between the exchange and SatoshiDice’s Erik Voorhees, concerning the listing or sale of the shares, as well as his account statements.
Company Sold

Voorhees said in an online statement in July that he’d sold the company to a “private party” that he didn’t identify. SatoshiDice’s stock is not currently among those listed on MPEx’s site. Voorhees declined to comment in an e-mail, and an e-mail sent to a general mailbox at SatochiDice was unanswered.

Popescu, in an Internet chat message, said the SEC didn’t cite any rules that may have been broken. He asserted that U.S. securities laws don’t apply to MPEx because Bitcoin doesn’t fall under the legal definition of money.

“There’s no discussion of breaking laws,” Popescu wrote. “Somebody wants to propose I broke a law, they’re to come up with the law I broke.”

Bitcoin, the most popular digital currency, emerged from a 2008 paper written by a programmer or group of programmers under the name Satoshi Nakamoto. It uses a public ledger to record transactions made under pseudonyms, and transactions are cryptographically signed for security. Because it has many of the same properties as traditional currencies, entrepreneurs have used it to create securities, such as shares and derivatives.

To contact the reporter on this story: Carter Dougherty in Washington at cdougherty6@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Maura Reynolds at mreynolds34@bloomberg.net David Scheer

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[Herp]

I find it funny how he tries to make himself believe US is getting weaker and thus his ass is safe and out of reach.

https://twitter.com/Mircea_Popescu/status/450729300116127744

[NotLambchop]

Lol, why are you angry with Mircea when it was Danny who took your coin?  Is it because raging at Danny is pointless now that he ... vanished?

[GreenBits]

SEC. 205. DEFINITION AND TREATMENT OF BANKING PRODUCTS.

(a) DEFINITION OF TRADITIONAL BANKING PRODUCT- For purposes of paragraphs (4) and (5) of section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a) (4), (5)), the term ‘traditional banking product’ means--

(1) a deposit account, savings account, certificate of deposit, or other deposit instrument issued by a bank;

(2) a banker’s acceptance;

(3) a letter of credit issued or loan made by a bank;

(4) a debit account at a bank arising from a credit card or similar arrangement;

(5) a participation in a loan which the bank or an affiliate of the bank (other than a broker or dealer) funds, participates in, or owns that is sold--

(A) to qualified investors; or

(B) to other persons that--

(i) have the opportunity to review and assess any material information, including information regarding the borrower’s creditworthiness; and

based on such factors as financial sophistication, net worth, and knowledge and experience in financial matters, have the capability to evaluate the information available, as determined under generally applicable banking standards or guidelines; and

Also,

SEC. 206. DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENT AND QUALIFIED INVESTOR DEFINED.

Section 3(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:

‘(54) DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENT-

‘(A) DEFINITION- The term ‘derivative instrument’ means any individually negotiated contract, agreement, warrant, note, or option that is based, in whole or in part, on the value of, any interest in, or any quantitative measure or the occurrence of any event relating to, one or more commodities, securities, currencies, interest or other rates, indices, or other assets, but does not include a traditional banking product, as defined in section 205(a) of the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999.

‘(B) CLASSIFICATION LIMITED- Classification of a particular contract as a derivative instrument pursuant to this paragraph shall not be construed as finding or implying that such instrument is or is not a security for any purpose under the securities laws, or is or is not an account, agreement, contract, or transaction for any purpose under the Commodity Exchange Act.

....‘(B) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY- The Commission may, by rule or order, define a ‘qualified investor’ as any other person, taking into consideration such factors as the financial sophistication of the person, net worth, and knowledge and experience in financial matters.’.

[minerpart]

This scumbag has plagued and Trolled this forum and damaged almost everything that wasn't MPEx in the process. Many companies have been targeted in deliberate commercial attacks and smears by him personally. He also pays others to smear legitimate businesses too.

He has made a lot of enemies but he continues with his arrogance (which will be the end of him) simply because his ego is far too overwhelming for his own brain to come to any sense of considered reason.  

Sociopaths like this should not all be locked up, but this one is also a criminal. There is no better place for this real scumbag than a US prison.


EDIT - he has also explicitly breached Romanian securities law by running an unlicensed 'alternative Securities Exchange'. But I'll let the US deal with him before reporting him for that.

[thekekk]

let the dump begin
http://mpex.co/?mpsic=S.MPOE

[NotLambchop]

I'll be handing out apples as soon as everyone settles down.
I'm waiting.

[Herp]

This scumbag has plagued and Trolled this forum and damaged almost everything that wasn't MPEx in the process. Many companies have been targeted in deliberate commercial attacks and smears by him personally. He also pays others to smear legitimate businesses too.

He has made a lot of enemies but he continues with his arrogance (which will be the end of him) simply because his ego is far too overwhelming for his own brain to come to any sense of considered reason.  

Sociopaths like this should not all be locked up, but this one is also a criminal. There is no better place for this real scumbag than a US prison.


EDIT - he has also explicitly breached Romanian securities law by running an unlicensed 'alternative Securities Exchange'. But I'll let the US deal with him before reporting him for that.

My point exactly. I'm not big fan of regulation but this guy trashes all his competitors claiming they are not "legit" and now in a sweet ironic twist of events, he's the one about the face the music. Disgusted me to see how he vilified and trashed Burnside, probably one of the most honest operators out there, who was forced to close operations due to a similar letter from US authorities.

[Herp]

let the dump begin
http://mpex.co/?mpsic=S.MPOE

Timber!!!

[Herp]

Hmm http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/28/liberty-reserve-arthur-budovsky-arrested-spain Liberty Reserve founder arrested in Spain and taken to US to stand trial...

Police raided three homes and five businesses linked to the Costa-Rica-based Liberty Reserve and seized papers and digital documents that will be turned over to US authorities, the statement said. A Russian citizen was also arrested in the case in Costa Rica on Friday and will be extradited to the US, it said.

History repeating itself?

[Herp]

Reddit ongoing discussion on the subject

http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/21xrov/mpex_owner_getting_letters_from_us_gov_in_danger/

[Herp]

Remember guys this investing/trading rule:

"He who defects first defects best."

Don't be the last ones to hold the bag on this MPEx upcoming disaster. Jump ship before the Titanic hits the iceberg.

[damiano]

Poor poor Micrea

[jimmothy]

let the dump begin
http://mpex.co/?mpsic=S.MPOE

Don't worry mircea will just buy any shares dumped.

Thats part of the benefits of being a ponzi scheme.

[Herp]

let the dump begin
http://mpex.co/?mpsic=S.MPOE

Don't worry mircea will just buy any shares dumped.

Thats part of the benefits of being a ponzi scheme.

This means he has to spend something for nothing, especially in this rotten context he finds himself in so I'm not so sure. He might just let said ponzi unfold to its logical conclusion. He will surely need a damn good lawyer to put up a strong defense and good lawyers don't come cheap.

How many of his shareholders will wait and see what happens with him next? I mean you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure it out, just look at the Liberty Reserve incident, where founders have been extradited to US from Spain and Costa Rica. As I was saying earlier:

"He who defects first defects best".

[minerpart]

He has already perfected that 'convict look' - prison is the natural place for him.



But I don't know which look I prefer - 'convict' or 'Borat'?

[NotLambchop]

Gentlemen!
Why have I called you to me on such short notice?  Wonder no more!
You, Sirs, have been chosen for your brilliance.  Your ne plus ultra, tippytop acme smartiferous brains par excellence of Bitcointalk.org.  
Welcome to MENSA!
You may now take off your helmets.

[Herp]

MtGox has stolen from thousants or ten of thousands US citizens and the "great" US can't do shit about it...

Really? Judge orders Mt Gox CEO to U.S. for questions on failed bitcoin exchange
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/01/us-bitcoin-mtgox-karpeles-idUSBREA3021920140401

[GreenBits]

MtGox has stolen from thousants or ten of thousands US citizens and the "great" US can't do shit about it...

http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSL1N0MT1X220140401?irpc=932

Judge orders Mt Gox CEO to U.S. for questions on failed bitcoin exchange
Tue, Apr 01 17:24 PM EDT

(edit) ROFL, Herp beat me to it. Good show. Ill post the text to save you the jump.

By Tom Hals

April 1 (Reuters) - The chief executive of Japan's Mt. Gox, once the world's leading bitcoin exchange, was ordered to the United States to answer questions related to its U.S. bankruptcy case, filed after the company lost $400 million of customers' digital currency.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stacey Jernigan on Tuesday ordered Karpeles to appear on April 17 in Dallas at the offices of Baker & McKenzie, the law firm that represents Mt. Gox.

Mt. Gox customers want its chief executive and majority owner, Mark Karpeles, to explain why the exchange shut down in February and what happened to their 750,000 bitcoins, which the company said were stolen in a computer hacking attack.

Customers have alleged that insiders including Karpeles may have stolen the money, and employees told Reuters they were worried as early as 2012 that customers' money was being diverted for operating expenses.

Mt. Gox filed bankruptcy in February in Tokyo. Last month, Karpeles asked a Dallas court to grant Mt. Gox Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection, in part to put a stop to a class action that had been filed by U.S. customers in Chicago federal court.

Under Chapter 15, protection from creditors is not automatic. Mt. Gox must prove at a May 20 hearing that it should be granted such protection.

"If he avails himself of this court, my God, he is going to get himself over here," Jernigan said at the Bankruptcy Court hearing in Dallas at which she ordered Karpeles to appear.

John Mitchell, a Baker & McKenzie attorney, said the company may replace Karpeles as the "foreign representative" of Mt. Gox in the U.S. bankruptcy court, a suggestion that did not sit well with the judge.

"He filed this case," she responded curtly.

Karpeles' testimony could help solve the mystery of what happened to money and bitcoins that were entrusted to Mt. Gox by its clients, most of them from the United States.

Karpeles controlled the company's financial records and may be the only person who knows where the company's assets and money might be, Steven Woodrow, an attorney for U.S. customers, told the Dallas hearing.

Jernigan limited the deposition questioning of Karpeles to issues pertaining to whether the court should grant permanent bankruptcy protection to Mt. Gox.

The case is In Re: Mt. Gox Co. Ltd, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Dallas, No. 14-31229. (Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by David Gregorio)

~Green

Its not an April Fools joke either.

[Herp]

well... a judge "order" from US is worth like 0.00000001 btc (better make it dodge) for the rest of the world...

(put a judge from US to decide about Crimeea then ))))

Japan is very US friendly. Extradition will work smoothly if it comes to that.

In case you need more convincing, little something I've posted earlier:

just look at the Liberty Reserve incident, where founders have been extradited to US from Spain and Costa Rica.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/28/liberty-reserve-arthur-budovsky-arrested-spain