PirateAt40's Money Laundering Operations: GPUMAX and BST

[server]

there has been a lot of speculation as to what pirateat40 is doing in order to be able to offer seemingly impossibly good returns in BST and such high rates at GPUMAX.  While it has already been speculated upon I would like to confirm: PirateAt40 is laundering money.  

Here is how they work:

Bitcoin Savings & Trust

Many have asked: How is Pirate regularly paying off 7% a week, with consistency and over a period of time?  (a ponzi would have folding months ago)

Pirate tries to maintain a buffer of somewhere between 10-50k clean bitcoins on hand.  These are the investments from the BTC community.   When one of his customers needs their Bitcoins laundered, he sends them 30-50% the number of dirty Bitcoins back to the customer in clean bitcoins.  (Some of his customers get better rates than others).  then he uses the dirty bitcoins to pay interest back to the depositors.  

This buys his customers the assurance that their new coins are no longer connected to them through the blockchain.  But he can offer them one better...

GPUMAX

GPUMAX is the ultimate form of money laundering because your coins don't come from anyone. they are printed out of thin air.  Miners are happy to be paid 150% without asking questions.  anyone who has been paid out from GPUMAX has recieved dirty coins (unless you were a really early tester).  He can send fresh clean coins to anyone who pays him in bitcoin.  we know that even people who don't have a relationship with us are using it to launder.

Why am I posting this?

Sorry, but I can't say too much without putting myself in the line of fire.  Pirate is a nice guy at heart, but he does business with some ugly people who I don't want coming back to me. recently though, he hasn't been thinking about the long-term for bitcoin, only the short term profits for himself.  he is reinvesting his money in businesses which are illegal in his (and most other) jurisdictions around the world. but the part i am most worried about:

Over the past few months, Pirate has started to get stupid about his IRL spending habits.  He has made some purchases that are probably going to raise some red flags.  His "legitimate" occupation will not stand up to scrutiny if the feds shine a light on him.  there is no way he can justify the amount of money he is pulling out. hes not keeping a clean head and people that know him can tell something isnt quite right. this is what really has me concerned, because he is just being too flashy.

edit: lender beware

sub and I just wanted to quote the complete OP for my own records.

[sturle]

Please quote for me where pirate claimed to be a crook.

On the first version of the web page for his laundering^Wtrading system where he promised a high weekly interest to people who deposited there.  It was under "Why don't you reveal your real identity" or similar.  He has smartened up a tiny bit since then, and left it out in later versions.  I don't know what excuse he has got this week for not revealing his identity.

[imsaguy]

Please quote for me where pirate claimed to be a crook.

On the first version of the web page for his laundering^Wtrading system where he promised a high weekly interest to people who deposited there.  It was under "Why don't you reveal your real identity" or similar.  He has smartened up a tiny bit since then, and left it out in later versions.  I don't know what excuse he has got this week for not revealing his identity.

His real identity IS known.  Did you not see the thread the other day?  You clearly need to try harder.

and if not announcing your real identity is 'bad', then the OP is 'bad'.

[Blazr]

On the first version of the web page for his laundering^Wtrading system where he promised a high weekly interest to people who deposited there.  It was under "Why don't you reveal your real identity" or similar.  He has smartened up a tiny bit since then, and left it out in later versions.  I don't know what excuse he has got this week for not revealing his identity.

Many people know who he is.

[sturle]

His real identity IS known.  Did you not see the thread the other day?  You clearly need to try harder.

There were at least a hundred different threads "the other day", and no, I didn't see it.  The only hint I have is "Trendon Shavers", and the only "Trendon Shavers" I could find related to pirateat40 has a warrant listed on him here:

http://www.co.midland.tx.us/da/hotcheckwarrants/list/

I have no idea if this is the same person or not.

and if not announcing your real identity is 'bad', then the OP is 'bad'.

What is "the OP"?  Not announcing your identity is not necessarily bad.  It depends on the conditions.  You may be anonymous at your AA meetings.  If you hand your money over to some person on the Internet without even knowing who she is or what she is doing with them, you should have your brain checked for signs of life.

[terrytibbs]

I'll just leave this here:

http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=226396560743335&id=217143734980207

Well, that explains the high payouts.

* terrytibbs withdraws his entire balance... oh wait

[imsaguy]

What is "the OP"?  Not announcing your identity is not necessarily bad.  It depends on the conditions.  You may be anonymous at your AA meetings.  If you hand your money over to some person on the Internet without even knowing who she is or what she is doing with them, you should have your brain checked for signs of life.

"OP" is original post/original poster.

Have you looked at the lending forums?  A shitton of people loan people money without knowing who she is or what she is doing with them, using their online identity as reference enough.  I suppose its time a thread is started about each one of them?

[elux]

The claims have not been debunked.  Not in this thread.

Certainly. While some of you guys (most responders in this thread)
do not appear to take OPs claims seriously, I guarantee you that the FBI will.

If the agents involved in Operation Farmer's Market have finished their investigation, they will be looking at this thread.

Claims that money laundering is not a crime will not save your day in court.
If you have a problem with applicable law, it is you that has a problem, not the law.

In the US, applicable law could mean the RICO statutes.

There is no way everyone involved will have taken sufficient
precautions to stay anonymous under a full and thorough investigation.

Claims of negligence will not save you.

Take care, stay safe, and remember the old adage,
if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

[malaimult]

can't you leave the man do a  dollar?  it's not our business what he launders our deal is not having our money lost in this laundering game.
also if it's true let fbi take care of this. i bet you already call them before posting the scheme here  

[Clipse]

The claims have not been debunked.  Not in this thread.

Certainly. While some of you guys (most responders in this thread)
do not appear to take OPs claims seriously, I guarantee you that the FBI will.

If the agents involved in Operation Farmer's have finished their investigation, they will be looking at this thread.

Claims that money laundering is not a crime will not save your day in court.
If you have a problem with applicable law, it is you that has a problem, not the law.

In the US, applicable law could mean the RICO statutes.

There is no way everyone involved will have taken sufficient
precautions to stay anonymous under a full and thorough investigation.

Claims of negligence will not save you.

Take care, stay safe, and remember the old adage,
if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

Butthurt radar detected, forum batman activated.

[elux]

also if it's true let fbi take care of this.

Right. Exactly. That's basically what I'm expecting. So. Just. Take care, you know.

bet you already call them before posting the scheme here  

Are you referring to me? I think they'll manage on their own. Have you not read their recent report on Bitcoin?



Here's a quick analysis:

I certainly don't have enough information to even pretend to know what's going on here.
Interestingly, I notice that BST, GPUMAX, PPT investors sound like they don't have too much of a clue either.
FBI, FinCEN, etc. is likely in the same position, for now. Though maybe not.

To the best of my knowledge - sustained - 7% weekly, compounded return on investment is not encountered in any legitimate line of business.

(For any reasonable, survivable level of risk. (I could be wrong, though I'd be quite (pleasantly) surprised.))


This makes pirateat40 an interesting case.


Now, put yourself in the shoes of a law enforcement agent, take a step back, and make a tally of the evidence.
It seems hard to deny that this case could be pertinent to their interests as well, does it not?

At a minimum I'd expect them to want to know what's going on here.

I would think that law enforcement will want to gather information, and then act upon it, if warranted.

Because that is their job, yes? (And wouldn't you think they'd love to dig up some damning dirt on those Bitcoins?)

If they are doing their jobs right they will eventually try, and they will eventually plausibly succeed.
Try, and succeed at figuring out what's going on, exactly. And who's involved, exactly.
This should be expected to take time. But it sounds quite possible that it could - eventually - happen.


So they they try, and find nothing. Or they find something. Or they find something but not a certain pirate, so they settle for you.
I don't know. Maybe pirateat40 is thoroughly legitimate in every conceivable way. I do hope so, but I wouldn't bet my life on it.

If you have a job, a wife, a family, and you want it to stay that way, you'd do well to keep on your toes.
You realistically need to figure out whether being called in for questioning, or put on trial, is a part of your acceptable risk.

No? Then the worst case scenario could be exactly that.

A worst case scenario.

Cheers!  

(Corrections are welcome. Not trying to crash the party. Just calling it like I see it.)

[bulanula]

Very interesting theories.

Shame you have no evidence but just pure FUD 

[Maged]

Shame you have no evidence but just pure FUD 

Shame you have no evidence that Pirate is an upstanding citizen.

[splatster]

Shame you have no evidence but just pure FUD 

Shame you have no evidence that Pirate is an upstanding citizen.

The United States (where pirate lives) has this crazy thing where people are innocent until proven guilty.  If you can't prove him guilty, then his jurisdiction's law says he's innocent.
I can't say that I don't think something less than savory is behind his returns, but making claims with no proof is insane.

[terrytibbs]

Shame you have no evidence that Pirate is an upstanding citizen.

The United States (where pirate lives) has this crazy thing where people are innocent until proven guilty.  If you can't prove him guilty, then his jurisdiction's law says he's innocent.
I can't say that I don't think something less than savory is behind his returns, but making claims with no proof is insane.

Don't be smug just because you keep your finger in his bum hole (metaphorically speaking).

[symbols]

splatster, while in the US 'innocent until proven guilty' holds, all that is necessary is probable cause to obtain a search warrant that would make proving guilt much easier. In serious money laundering cases, searches/wiretaps/etc have gone on for years prior to the actual indictment. While in the US hacking is still not allowed for obtaining computer records, precedent for offensive information gathering has been set in Germany. Encrypted hard disks provide no defense against that threat vector.

-s

[payb.tc]

The United States (where pirate lives) has this crazy thing where people are innocent until proven guilty.

that is one of the world's biggest myths imho.

was kim dotcom ever proven guilty?

no, but they destroyed his business anyway.


if you make a lot of money, you're guilty until you can prove to the state that you're innocent (they will assume it comes from illegal means unless you can prove it was earned legitimately)

if you sleep with a young-looking chick, you're guilty until you can prove to the state that she's 18+ (they will assume she's a child, and you go to jail, unless you prove your innocence).

[nrd525]

I'm not saying I am in agreement with the OP, but I do like the rationale for why Pirate would have setup GPUMAX.  I've been puzzled as to why he would do that.

If he is laundering money, I'm guessing that means that all of the money could get seized by the government and you wouldn't have any recourse to get it back.  I know the US government likes to seize possessions that are connected to the drug trade.

I don't know if people who are loaning money to him would be criminally liable.  I'm hoping not, but I am not an expert.  One would hope that forum posts of an unconfirmed guess (or anonymous post) that he is engaging in illegal activity would be treated as a completely unreliable source.  Now if you are one of the small handful of people who actually know who he is and still invested, then you might be liable for prosecution.

[Maged]

Shame you have no evidence but just pure FUD 

Shame you have no evidence that Pirate is an upstanding citizen.

The United States (where pirate lives)

Does he live in the US? Does anybody actually know this? People seem to know an identity that Pirate planted, but I haven't seen a single scratch of evidence that he even exists.

Even then, you're missing my point: Pirate has not disclosed any evidence that could possibly point to him having made his money legally. The bar I'm asking for isn't even all that high.

I bought his story the first few months; it's hard to believe it anymore.

[pirateat40]

*sips his fruity drink on his private island while watching the community make him sound like the Most Interesting Man In Bitcoin.