
Peachy Printer – Theft of Kickstarter Raised Funds - LVB
http://www.peachyprinter.com/
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pseingatl
What kind of a knucklehead: <p>\--takes in ~$600k before a corporation is
formed? <p>\--puts it into the account of a diesel mechanic, with no financial
background? <p>\--relies on the mechanic's "assurance" that he will hold the
money "in trust"? <p>\--when the theft is found fails to make a police report?
<p>\--fails to immediately sue to seize the house paid for with the stolen
money? And what kind of idiot: <p>\--makes a Youtube video in which he admits
to stealing the money? Are the Crown prosecutors in Saskatchewan all on
extended vacations? Assuming that lawyers in Saskatchewan are half-brain dead
--the only possible explanation here--the lawsuit to seize the house should
have been filed the day after the thieving mechanic failed to make a scheduled
restitution payment. This is the problem with Kickstarter: vast funds are
given to amateurs who are clueless when it comes to how to run a company.

~~~
petra
>> vast funds are given to amateurs who are clueless when it comes to how to
run a company.

I wonder - in the same way that are services that simplify everything else
about making and selling products - would something like an
affordable/scalable company creation platform would be possible to build ?

~~~
ericathegreat
You mean, like Atlas? [https://stripe.com/atlas](https://stripe.com/atlas)

~~~
pseingatl
Here's the problem with Atlas: \--While a US bank account is key; there are
major KYC issues here. \--For $500 you get 1\. a corporation 2\. a bank
account 3\. a Stripe merchant account.

Since you might pay $500 for a corporation alone; this is a good bundle.

\--You get "access" to PwC (Price Waterhouse Coopers) and Orrick, a local law
firm.

If you have the telephone number of these two entities you already have
"access." What "access" otherwise means isn't clear. If PwC are going to
provide bespoke accounting and start-up legal service at a rate discounted
through Stripe, you're not getting much of a bargain.

I'd be more confident if they laid out exactly what accounting and legal
services Atlas is going to broker. After all, for start-ups none of this stuff
is rocket science--it's all forms and software. But other than tax
preparation, do you also get PwC's consulting services? And if so, how much?
And will these services be discounted too? Who is the partner in charge? What
are the lines of communication among start-up=>Atlas=>PwC? PwC will surely
represent start-up's competitors--will they agree to Chinese Wall their
services?

Finally, I won't address ethical issues here (attorneys referral service,
conflicts of interest, etc.) because it seems that these haven't gotten Atlas'
attention. There will be push-back, which they may or may not be able to
resist.

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jessaustin
These people don't understand how construction mortgages work. Homeowners
don't just magically get any amount of money from them; homeowners don't
actually get any money from them at all. An escrow firm makes payments for
contractors' and suppliers' verified invoices, _directly to the contractors
and suppliers_. There isn't money left over for homeowners, because the point
of a construction mortgage is that homeowners aren't paying for anything. The
bank is paying, and it keeps close track of how much it pays, because banks
intend to be repaid.

This diesel mechanic had admitted to stealing money; why would anyone
(especially a lawyer?!) have believed his goofy theory for how he'd pay back
the theft? _If_ he had a construction mortgage, then _that_ paid for the new
house.

Where did the money really go? Most likely to the casino. This pattern of
obfuscation and denial seems typical of problem gamblers. Perhaps it's fitting
that the money had originally been gambled on the possibility that some random
collection of dudes could create a new 3D printer, and the diesel mechanic
just re-gambled it, in a sense.

[yes I'm bitter, but fortunately I'm just a little over $100 bitter]

~~~
TheGuyWhoCodes
He may have used the stolen funds to get a smaller mortgage, thinking it would
speed things up (as was mentioned in the video). None the less it's all too
fishy. Why wait a year hoping to get the funds and not sue right a way for
embezzlement, sell the house pay the bank and the rest of the cash will be
returned to the company. He did return 110k from somewhere so at least more
than that would be returned to the company......

~~~
jessaustin
Yeah, if one pays for construction out of one's bank account then the
construction loan will be smaller.

That doesn't explain how checks sent to contractors and suppliers would have
helped the diesel mechanic pay back his theft from Peachy. I'm not going to
watch any more videos from this pack of pranksters, but the explanation in TFA
is: " _As stated in the repayment agreement, the plan was that as David
reached each stage of his build, he would payout a percentage the draw to
Peachy Printer._ " He would never see that money! How on earth could a
licensed attorney have come up with such a mess? "We agree to pretend that
banks are as stupid as we are, and we encourage the diesel mechanic to attempt
to defraud them as he has us." Maybe Rylan can sue his "attorney" for
malpractice, right after he sues his "investor" for theft.

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iamthepieman
Is there a way to tell if the crime has indeed been reported to the Saskatoon
City police? This is the only outside source of the entire affair that could
verify any part of this story. Everyone else is either Rylan or David's lawyer
(assuming they ever had one), Rylan's family members or the two founders,
Rylan and David themselves.

    
    
         I had high hopes that any one of these plans would be successful,
         and I didn’t publicize this situation out of fear that doing so
         would have jeopardized our chances to fix the problem.  
    

could also be read as "It took me a long time to come up with a consistent
story that masks my role in stealing backers money"

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Aeolun
Transferring 550K to a personal account was maybe a slightly stupid thing to
do.

~~~
jessaustin
It's totally possible that $20k would have been safe, but everyone's virtue
has some price, and half a million would be too much temptation for _lots_ of
people.

I don't recall David the diesel mechanic ever being introduced in the videos
as "the guy into whose personal account we'll transfer your money". That would
have raised some questions, I think. Did Rylan not have a bank account? Why
wasn't obtaining a bank account his first priority after raising this much
money?

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zer00eyz
I feel bad for Rylan (not the one who stole), and the backers.

For me Kickstarter, and its peers, have become a wellspring of lessons in what
NOT to do when starting a business.

~~~
hga
Is there any arena of starting businesses that not a wellspring of negative
lessons?

At least one difference with group funding is much higher visibility than any
other I can think of.

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TaylorGood
Easily avoidable and now a tough spot to be in, but this is the best example
of transparency I've seen for when a Kickstarter "fails" – and to get his
cofounder's admission of guilt on video? Wow.

~~~
ghostly_s
Utterly bizarre that they've spent the time putting together this polished
video admitting to the criminal fraud of one of the business partners...with
sad piano music and motion graphics!? No-one looks remotely good or free of
suspicion in this.

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waddabadoo
This Ryan guy stays pretty calm considering the circumstances.

