IP: Con man bilks MS, Valley investors out of millions, DOJ says

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

>Date: Wed, 30 May 2001 16:35:13 -0400
>From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
>
>http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,44169,00.html
>
>    Casino Investment Scam Craps Out
>    By Declan McCullagh (declan@wired.com)
>    10:55 a.m. May 30, 2001 PDT
>
>    WASHINGTON -- A federal grand jury indicted a 23-year-old Utah
>    resident on charges of running a brash scam that bilked investors out
>    of over $4 million by promising them shares of a Internet and casino
>    gaming company.
>
>    Robert Robb of Orem, Utah, falsely claimed that Microsoft CEO Steve
>    Ballmer offered him $50 million, that magician David Copperfield had
>    participated in a Las Vegas launch of the multiplayer gaming
>    terminals, and that Mirage Resorts had licensed the systems, according
>    to the 8-page indictment released Tuesday.
>
>    Nick Humy, an assistant federal public defender in San Jose,
>    California, said his client appeared in court on Tuesday and pled not
>    guilty to each of the 11 counts of wire fraud and extortion.
>
>    The case provides a glimpse into the seamier side of the Internet boom
>    around September 1999, when Robb allegedly began to raise millions of
>    dollars from wealthy Microsoft employees and Silicon Valley investors
>    by forging documents and promising easy money from casinos.
>
>    [...]



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