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

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Wed May 30 2001 - 13:35:13 PDT

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    http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,44169,00.html
    
       Casino Investment Scam Craps Out
       By Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
       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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