MOD Systems founder wins reversal on mail fraud conviction, loses in other areas

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The continuing saga of MOD Systems co-founder Mark E. Phillips, who was sentenced to four years in prison in July 2011 on fraud and money laundering charges, has taken another unusual turn. According to court documents released this week, Phillips has won a reversal of the mail fraud charge that he was originally convicted on…. Read More…

Dutch hacker ‘Fortezza’ extradited to U.S. on 14 counts

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David Benjaim Schrooten, a 21-year-old Dutch computer hacker who operates under the name “Fortezza,” is scheduled to make his first court appearance today in Seattle as part of a 14-count indictment alleging that he stole and marketed thousands of stolen credit card numbers. Arrested in Romania in March, Schrooten arrived in Seattle on June 9th… Read More…

Google pays $10M for TeraHop patents: Sale to help investors in fraud case recoup cash

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Big technology companies are searching everywhere for patents, looking to protect themselves from future litigation. Now, Google has emerged as the buyer of a patent portfolio in a complex fraud case involving 57-year-old Seattle investment professional Mark Spangler. Spangler, who was indicted last week on 23 counts of fraud and money laundering, allegedly funneled some $46… Read More…

Seattle financial advisor indicted for funneling $46M into his startup ventures

Scales of Justice. Photo via Eric the Fish

Mark Spangler, a 57-year-old Seattle financial advisor who formerly served as head of the National Association of Personal Finance Advisors, was indicted today on 23 counts of fraud and money laundering. Spangler is accused of orchestrating a scheme between 2003 and 2011 in which he diverted $46 million in investor funds into two startup companies where… Read More…

Daily deal site Tippr offers a full refund after duped by fake Bose headsets

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In what CEO Martin Tobias described as the company’s first mass refund, Seattle daily deal site Tippr has apologized to customers who bought a pair of what they thought were $49 Bose headsets. Tobias tells GeekWire that a merchant signaled that the headsets were genuine, and that it was authorized to sell them. But Tippr… Read More…

Ex-Microsoft employee sentenced to two years in prison for embezzlement

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Randal Ray Seal, a 54-year-old former analyst in Microsoft’s accounts payable department, has been sentenced to two years in prison and two years of supervised release for stealing more than $1 million from the company. In a court hearing, Judge James Robart told Seal that there “needs to be a lesson that this kind of money… Read More…

MOD Systems founder Mark Phillips sentenced to four years in prison

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Seattle entrepreneur Mark Phillips was sentenced Friday morning to four years in prison for defrauding MOD Systems and lying to the court in a complex fraud case that has dragged on for more than three years. In issuing the ruling — about half of what federal prosecutors recommended — U.S. District Judge John Coughenor said… Read More…

MOD Systems shuts down as prosecutors suggest 97 month jail term for founder Mark Phillips

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Federal prosecutors want to lock up MOD Systems founder Mark Phillips for more than eight years after the high-tech executive looted the maker of digital kiosk technology, lied to investors and “undermined the fabric of the entrepreneurial community.” Phillips, who was convicted on four counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, and two counts of money… Read More…