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Bitcoin’s ‘First Felon’ Faces More Legal Trouble
- JumpCrisscross 8y ago“Over the last year, Charlie Shrem, a 28-year-old Bitcoin investor, has bought two Maseratis, two powerboats — one of them 32 feet long — and a $2 million house in Florida, along with smaller pieces of real estate. ... Mr. Shrem...has said in recent interviews that he went to prison with almost no money.” What an idiot. Right out of jail, owes the feds hundreds of thousands of dollars, and can’t help but conspicuously consume.
- jandrese 8y agoI feel like buying a ton of stupidly expensive shit and having no cash on hand might somehow be related.
- baxtr 8y agoI’m somewhat disappointed that he didn’t buy any Lambos...
- dsfyu404ed 8y agoYeah, Maseratis are the Volkswagen/Chrysler/Fiat of the super-car world.
- wcarron 8y agoWell, Maserati is actually owned by Fiat/Chrysler Group. Plus, like all F/C vehicles, they're pieces of shit. Maserati used to be nice. Now, they're sport cars for people who want a sport car but don't know anything about said cars. Volkswagen is actually, despite their scandals, a remarkably good quality group. They own VW, Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini, and Bugatti.
- maxmcd 8y ago> Porsche SE currently owns 50.73% of the voting rights in Volkswagen AG as the largest (controlling) shareholder.
- JumpCrisscross 8y ago> Porsche SE currently owns 50.73% of the voting rights in Volkswagen AG as the largest (controlling) shareholder Porsche AG is a car maker [1]. Porsche SE is a family investment vehicle "owned by the Austrian Porsche and Piëch families" [2]. Porsche SE owns a majority of Volkswagen AG. Volkswagen AG owns Porsche AG. Family name versus car company name. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_SE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porsche_SE
- bbrian 8y agoFerdinand Porsche designed the Volkswagen Beetle! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Porsche#Volkswagen_Beetle_and_Nazi_membership https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Porsche#Volkswagen_B...
- hermitdev 8y agoI own a 2013 Dodge Charger SRT (an FC brand). At $51k & 470hp out the door, it's the best performing and cheapest muscle car in its class. It can also seat my family of 4 comfortably. In 6 years and 42k miles, I've had zero drive train issues. Only problems I've had are suspension (I drive on pot hole ridden Chicago area roads) and tires worn prematurely due to bent suspension arms. Dont know what your experience is with FC, but that's been mine. Edit: math on years owned.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- lotsofpulp 8y ago42k miles / 6 years is a barely used car. I would expect a post year 2000 car to go 150k, even 200k miles with no drive train problems assuming normal conditions. Also, the stats show Fiat/Chrysler experiencing the most problems: https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/jd-power-2018-us-vehicle-dependability-study https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/jd-power-201... https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2017-vehicle-dependability-study https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2017-vehicle... https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2016-us-vehicle-dependability-study-vds https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2016-us-vehi... https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2015-vehicle-dependability-study https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2015-vehicle... Pretty consistently at the bottom year after year.
- browsercoin 8y agonot sure why you are being downvoted but this is essentially the truth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QAHK1Uy9ao https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QAHK1Uy9ao (this 2005 model is 20k vs a 2005 Ferrari F430 would fetch at least 100k) It's like the C-class. Everywhere in Vancouver, BC. Especially downtown, where debt to income ratio is ridiculously higher than other areas. People will pay for the brand, true supercar enthusiasts pay on future value. In fact, people who collect rare supercars, do not lose money on what is otherwise a known depreciating asset. ex. F430 Manual transmission started appreciating in value past handful years because of demand for the last manual gated Ferrari, its approaching high-mileage 430 Scuderia prices, which is ridiculous. Everybody knows the Ferrari 430 Scuderia is the rawest Ferrari you can experience of last generation, even more expensive than a brand new 458. I also think the F430 front and rear is the best looking. I died inside when they revealed those ugly sharp edges in the 458. Then the sacrilege of putting a turbo. whew! I kinda went off on a tangent there. but yeah, tldr, parent comment is right and not deserving of downvotes.
- wmf 8y agoOh man, I thought cars were for driving, houses for living in, art for looking at, and Bitcoin was supposed to be a currency. No wonder I'm not rich; I've been doing it wrong this whole time!
- Scoundreller 8y agoJust think of all the value that you ate instead of saving in your fridge!
- RaceWon 8y agoExcuse me, and with all due respect, but I think I should leave this here. "http://cars.mclaren.com/" http://cars.mclaren.com/"
- paulcole 8y agoFlorida's a great place to do this because of the bankruptcy homestead exemption: > In bankruptcy, the Florida homestead exemption allows a primary residence of unlimited value to be protected from creditors as long as the debtor has lived in Florida for 40 months or more, and the property is not larger than half an acre in a municipality or 160 acres elsewhere OJ Simpson used the same trick to prevent the Goldman family from getting his house.
- paulpauper 8y agothat explains it. the humidity and fire ants suck though
- conanbatt 8y ago> Mr. Shrem...has said in recent interviews that he went to prison with almost no money. > Bitcoin Please..
- browsercoin 8y ago> two Maseratis jesus christ. does this man have no taste? Maserati is the car poor people buy when they can't afford Ferrari in Vancouver, BC. Doug Demuro agrees.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- apsec112 8y agoAhhhh, yes, I remember Mr. Shrem. He acquired my Bitcoin company in 2012, we signed an acquisition contract and everything, and then he just never paid me and threatened me when I tried to collect (it was a five-figure sum). And to think I'd even helped him with his college math homework.
- delinka 8y agoI’m hoping the contract’s execution was contingent on payment being received by you.
- nathancahill 8y agoIf only there was a currency that allowed that..
- concam 8y agoGood luck trying to code a few hundred years of common law into a smart contract.
- microcolonel 8y agoIf you could get investors on board and set up the company books correctly, it'd be a good, stable permanent job. ;- )
- fouc 8y agoStart with one step. Then take another. Step by step. Be not daunted.
- derefr 8y agoIt always is, at least in the US. See (the legal doctrine of) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consideration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consideration. Specifically this part: > Consideration cannot be illusory A contract without consideration is void. If you promise to give someone X (that you own) if they give you Y (that they own), and you never give them X, then you don't own their Y, even if it's already in your possession. You just (non-forcefully) stole their Y—same as if you e.g. asked to borrow someone's phone and then walked away with it.
- krupan 8y agoHe wrote a "Geek in Prison" series that was interesting: https://medium.com/@cshrem https://medium.com/@cshrem
- HEHENE 8y agoThanks for that link - incredibly insightful.
- Scoundreller 8y ago> Throughout the day I kept checking the computer to see if the funds she added through Western Union were available yet. This wait must have torn him apart.
- will_brown 8y agoThe time line suggests this might actually be barred by the statute of limitations. If so the case would be dismissed notwithstanding if the allegations are true.
- gammateam 8y agoI think it is a major flaw to assume someone's conspicuous consumption is from YOUR money. This man has been in crypto for 8 years Anyone that was there for the last 15 months could have made enough FROM SCRATCH to buy those things just trading. I've had hundreds of dollars of DUST in exchanges and wallets that I rediscovered were worth 6 figures, and at some points 7 figures if had checked. Even if the government had frozen some of my assets in connection with blah blah blah, I'd still have this stuff. Add in advisory roles, salaries, the conference circuit, you might as well just fire your lawyer for coming up with that children's tale, and just stick to why someone might owe you money not "and here's proof they're the bad guy we must stop him NAO!"
- sjg007 8y agoHis problem is that he said he was bankrupt when he went to prison. Not sure if he declared bankruptcy but...
- gammateam 8y agoOh right, because saying "your are bankrupt" or actually declaring bankruptcy means permanently broke and living in public housing or under a bridge. According to your story of events he would have had to say this in early 2015. He has been C-level at a hedge fund just a few months after getting out of prison in mid 2016. And of course thats not how bankruptcy works at all. This story is for extremely gullible and naive people, in order to try and get a summary judgement.
- JumpCrisscross 8y ago> because saying "your are bankrupt" or actually declaring bankruptcy means permanently broke and living in public housing or under a bridge Mr. Shrem has "not paid the government $950,000 in restitution that he agreed to as part of his 2014 guilty plea" [1]. It's reasonable to expect him to not be purchasing "two Maseratis, two powerboats — one of them 32 feet long — and a $2 million house in Florida" while simultaneously launching "various partnerships...that had to give money back to investors" just a year out of jail. [1] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/02/technology/bitcoin-charlie-shrem-winklevoss-twins.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/02/technology/bitcoin-charli...
- maehwasu 8y agoWhy the hell would he be dumb enough to buy all this stuff in the US? At least go to a country where your assets won't get easily frozen, and where it's hard to extradite. What an utter moron.
- bredren 8y agoI was invited to a house party at this guy’s place when he was under house arrest. I said no thanks.
- Matticus_Rex 8y agoFishing expedition. The money probably isn't theirs (there are plenty of places Charlie could have made that money since release, given what he does and what he's been involved in), but on the off-chance it is, they may win OR get uncomfortably close in discovery to stuff he doesn't want light on, and he'll settle.
- digianarchist 8y agoBaffles me how Mr Shrem is held up as some Bitcoin martyr by those in the community even as late as yesterday. Here's OpenBazaar's lead developer mentioning that Shrem went to jail because "Bitcoin is challenging the way money works in society". Shrem went to jail for laundering money for drug dealers. That's certainly one way of challenging how money works in society. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL9MkOGgVAQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL9MkOGgVAQ The Bitcoin community seems to have trouble choosing it's spokespeople. Remember Bruce Wagner? https://www.metafilter.com/107065/Bruce-Wagner-and-the-Bitcoin-Scam https://www.metafilter.com/107065/Bruce-Wagner-and-the-Bitco...