Tag: Ponzi Scheme

League of Legends Team Owner Arrested On Fraud Charges


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Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO and League of Legends team owner Martin Shkreli was arrested today on charges of securities fraud and corruption. According to Bloomberg, Shkreli is accused of using money illegally from his company Retrophin in order to pay off debts incurred by a separate company. Shkreli made a name for himself as the poster boy of capitalism run amok when he bought up a drug used for treating immune-related illnesses including, among other things, HIV and subsequently raised the price by more than 5000% from $13.70 a pill to $750. Shkreli later reneged on promises that the company had learned the error of its ways and would bring the price back down.

Shkreli has been accused of running his companies like a ponzi scheme, using the assets to pay off investors from previous failed ventures. Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders rejected a campaign donation from Shkreli, with Donald Trump referring to him as a spoiled brat. If convicted, Shkreli could be banned from running a public company.

(Source: Bloomberg)

Stargate Worlds Just Can't Die, Yet Another Lawsuit


Some of you may remember the Ponzi scheme that Stargate Worlds and MMOGuls allegedly turned out to be. I do, and I distinctly apologize to my editor for forgetting that I had duct taped and locked you in the basement, but then again that is what happens when you interrupt my Diablo 3 time to ask me to talk about Stargate Worlds and Gary Whiting, I don’t care how many times you say please. It has been 18 months since I’ve had to talk about Stargate Worlds, and boy does the time fly when your blood isn’t boiling.

First of all, let’s set something straight: Stargate Worlds is never coming back. Last we heard back in 2010, MGM pulled the license and has absolutely no intention on letting it loose again. Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment’s court appointed receive is in the process of dismantling the long-dead development company and selling it off piece by piece.

But it doesn’t end there, and karma has found its mark. Gary Whiting, noted Ponzi Schemer Multi-Level Marketer is on the receiving end of a growing number of lawsuits by investors in the Stargate MMO. Whiting, who owes more than $6.2 million thanks to two other lawsuits, has another on his hands to the tune of $4 million, from 17 plaintiffs under the accusation that Whiting mislead them into investing in the disastrously failed MMO.

According to the plaintiffs, Whiting lied about Stargate Worlds being near finished, stole millions from the company coffers and never repaid loans.

We’ll see how this turns out in court. I won’t, because this is the last I’ll post about Stargate Worlds.

(Source: The Arizona Republic)

A Downward Spiral Does Not Mean Death.


I like to take some time every now and then to detail certain parts of MMO Fallout, usually terms and expressions I use, that generates the most feedback from fans. More recently, I’ve had a few questions about my consistently ending certain product articles (Star Wars Galaxies, Age of Conan, Planetside, and several others) with “More on ____’s downward spiral as it appears.” Some of the readers appear to be under the impression that I’m calling the deaths of these MMOs, lovingly pointing out that I have said from day one that I will never predict the death of an MMO.

Well they are right, at least on the last point. When I say downward spiral, I always have facts to back myself up, and I am not always referring to subscriber numbers. Take Funcom for example, who not only cut off 20% of their staff, delayed a non-dated MMO, announced a massive revenue drop, and somehow is still finding the time to develop a free to play kid MMO. When I say Funcom is in a downward spiral, I mean financially that company is in a downward spiral, that changes direction depending on your hemisphere and leads right into the septic tank.

I don’t call death because, to be honest, it’s redundant. Dwindling subscriber numbers? Yes. Financial ruin? Yes. Ponzi Scheme? Stargate Worlds. Calling death on an MMO is akin to calling yourself a soothsayer and predicting that someone would die, but they would have financial gain at some point before they do. Not when they’ll die or what the financial gain is, and all that can be chalked up as everyone dies and, generally, everyone has an income at some point in their lives. Blamo, you’re the most generalized soothsayer in all the land.

Continue reading “A Downward Spiral Does Not Mean Death.”