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Buyers of Radio Shack, Pier 1 brands accused of running $112M Ponzi scheme

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Re: Buyers of Radio Shack, Pier 1 brands accused of running $112M Ponzi scheme

#51

Post by Aurornis »

phendrenad2 wrote: post #28

Overstating the success rate of your business model, moving funds between subsidiaries when the investor agreements said they wouldn't be, and embezzling funds. Did I get the claims here right?

The root issue is material misrepresentation of the businesses.

They told investors lies about how well the companies were doing and how the funds were to be used.

The Ponzi part comes from paying old investors with money from new investors but telling everyone it’s from the business’ cash flow, which was a lie.

Re: Buyers of Radio Shack, Pier 1 brands accused of running $112M Ponzi scheme

#52

Post by [deleted] »

jdietrich wrote: post #15
bitwize wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A study found that most American millionaires lived in modest homes and drove used American cars. They made their wealth by being concerned about relatively small amounts of money because it adds up. When we think "millionaire" we think of the dream that is sold to us by Hollywood—mansions, fancy cars, endless parties. But entertainers are paid in the millions and then encouraged to live like billionaires, so that th…

"Millionaire" is now practically synonymous with "professional nearing retirement". About 1 in 15 Americans have a net worth of over $1m.

[deleted]

Re: Buyers of Radio Shack, Pier 1 brands accused of running $112M Ponzi scheme

#54

Post by Aurornis »

nenenejej wrote: post #38
phendrenad2 wrote: post #28

Overstating the success rate of your business model, moving funds between subsidiaries when the investor agreements said they wouldn't be, and embezzling funds. Did I get the claims here right?

I wonder if it is all legal had he been forthcoming. I heard the "borrow money to pay dividends" thing was a well worn playbook. Not necessarily a ponzi. ut usally borrowed money serviced by earnings. Is it illegal because it wasn't stated? How to they prize apart ponzi from just aggressive debt.

If they had accurately stated the value and cash flow of the businesses and been transparent about where the money was going then technically they would have been fine.

But if they had been honest about the performance of the businesses and the way the money was being used, they would not have attracted as much investment money. A few gullible people, but not $112 million worth.

The misrepresentation was key to attracting the investment.

Re: Buyers of Radio Shack, Pier 1 brands accused of running $112M Ponzi scheme

#55

Post by Aurornis »

modeless wrote: post #5

People may remember Tai Lopez from his "Here in my garage, just bought this new Lamborghini here" YouTube ad, subject of several parodies such as: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GIwTG8V-Ko I think he was one of the first to realize that you could take regular YouTube videos that are several minutes long and turn them into skippable pre-roll ads, and some people would watch the whole thing. I know nothing else about…

I never saw his videos but his name still came up a lot as a know scammer in many forums. He was prolific in his reach toward vulnerable populations who were desperate to get rich quickly. There are a lot of young people who feel that their only chance at having a decent life is to strike it rich from something big. People like this person prey on those thoughts.

Re: Buyers of Radio Shack, Pier 1 brands accused of running $112M Ponzi scheme

#56

Post by userbinator »

collingreen wrote: post #35
thr0w wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Never met him personally, but one of his companies tried to recruit me for a database migration project. Part of the interview process included responding to the question "I enjoy having sex with people I hardly know" on a scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree.

Dude what the actual F. This is a crazy thing to put into a job interview.

Unless it's for a job in the adult entertainment industry.

Re: Buyers of Radio Shack, Pier 1 brands accused of running $112M Ponzi scheme

#57

Post by primitivesuave »

modeless wrote: post #5

People may remember Tai Lopez from his "Here in my garage, just bought this new Lamborghini here" YouTube ad, subject of several parodies such as: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GIwTG8V-Ko I think he was one of the first to realize that you could take regular YouTube videos that are several minutes long and turn them into skippable pre-roll ads, and some people would watch the whole thing. I know nothing else about…

He also ran a series of now-defunct scam dating sites with fake profiles around 2010-2015, and has been quite consistent at only operating scam businesses in the past 15 years. I know nothing about the people who hand over money to this guy, and I hope to keep it that way.

Re: Buyers of Radio Shack, Pier 1 brands accused of running $112M Ponzi scheme

#59

Post by dcrazy »

RainyDayTmrw wrote: post #30

As this is a tech forum, I expect that the name that stands out is Radio Shack, and I do agree that that story is tragic. For me, as a long time New Yorker, the other name that stands out is Modell's. They were, for quite a long time, a fixture in New York City and beyond. Even for us not sports inclined, we still knew Modell's as a reliable retailer of sneakers throughout the years. Arguably, their Covid era bankrup…

If it helps, Dick’s is from Binghamton.

Re: Buyers of Radio Shack, Pier 1 brands accused of running $112M Ponzi scheme

#60

Post by defen »

modeless wrote: post #5

People may remember Tai Lopez from his "Here in my garage, just bought this new Lamborghini here" YouTube ad, subject of several parodies such as: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GIwTG8V-Ko I think he was one of the first to realize that you could take regular YouTube videos that are several minutes long and turn them into skippable pre-roll ads, and some people would watch the whole thing. I know nothing else about…

> I think he was one of the first to realize that you could take regular YouTube videos that are several minutes long and turn them into skippable pre-roll ads, and some people would watch the whole thing.

I'm struggling to understand what this means. He put lots of ads on his videos? Or something else.

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