California Tech Founder Admits to Defrauding $4M For His Luxury Lifestyle (sfgate.com) 40
The tech startup "purported to make smart home and business products," writes America's Justice Department — products that were "meant to stop package theft, prevent weather damage to packages, and make it easier for emergency responders and delivery services to find homes and businesses." Royce Newcomb "developed prototypes of his products and received local and national media attention for them. For example, Time Magazine included his eLiT Address Box & Security System, which used mobile networks to pinpoint home and business locations, on its Best Inventions of 2021 list."
But then he told investors he'd also received a grant by the National Science Foundation — one of "several false representations to his investors to deceive and cheat them out of their money... Newcomb used the money to pay for gambling, a Mercedes and Jaguar, and a mansion." He also used the money to pay for refunds to other investors who wanted out, and to pay for new, unrelated projects without the investors' authorization. During this period, Newcomb also received a fraudulent COVID-19 loan for more than $70,000 from the Small Business Administration and fraudulent loans for more than $190,000 from private lenders. He lied about Strategic Innovations having hundreds of thousands and even millions in revenue to get these loans.
Newcomb was previously convicted federally in 2011 for running a real estate fraud scheme in Sacramento. He was sentenced to more than five years in prison for that offense, and he was on federal supervised release for that offense when he committed the offenses charged in this case... Newcomb faces maximum statutory penalties of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the wire fraud charge, and 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the money laundering charge...
This effort is part of a California COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force operation, one of five interagency COVID-19 fraud strike force teams established by the U.S. Department of Justice.
SFGate writes that "Despite receiving significant funding, his startup, Strategic Innovations, never made a dime or released any products to market, according to legal documents." The owner of a California tech startup has pleaded guilty to stealing over $4 million from investors, private lenders and the U.S. government in order to live a luxurious lifestyle, the United States Attorney's Office announced Monday... When investors asked about product delays and when they'd be paid back, Newcomb made excuses and provided conflicting info, telling them that there were supply chain issues or software problems, according to the indictment. In reality, federal prosecutors said, he was using the money to travel and continue to make these lavish personal expenses.
But then he told investors he'd also received a grant by the National Science Foundation — one of "several false representations to his investors to deceive and cheat them out of their money... Newcomb used the money to pay for gambling, a Mercedes and Jaguar, and a mansion." He also used the money to pay for refunds to other investors who wanted out, and to pay for new, unrelated projects without the investors' authorization. During this period, Newcomb also received a fraudulent COVID-19 loan for more than $70,000 from the Small Business Administration and fraudulent loans for more than $190,000 from private lenders. He lied about Strategic Innovations having hundreds of thousands and even millions in revenue to get these loans.
Newcomb was previously convicted federally in 2011 for running a real estate fraud scheme in Sacramento. He was sentenced to more than five years in prison for that offense, and he was on federal supervised release for that offense when he committed the offenses charged in this case... Newcomb faces maximum statutory penalties of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the wire fraud charge, and 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the money laundering charge...
This effort is part of a California COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force operation, one of five interagency COVID-19 fraud strike force teams established by the U.S. Department of Justice.
SFGate writes that "Despite receiving significant funding, his startup, Strategic Innovations, never made a dime or released any products to market, according to legal documents." The owner of a California tech startup has pleaded guilty to stealing over $4 million from investors, private lenders and the U.S. government in order to live a luxurious lifestyle, the United States Attorney's Office announced Monday... When investors asked about product delays and when they'd be paid back, Newcomb made excuses and provided conflicting info, telling them that there were supply chain issues or software problems, according to the indictment. In reality, federal prosecutors said, he was using the money to travel and continue to make these lavish personal expenses.
Enjoy the dropped soap in federal prison (Score:4, Insightful)
If only they could go after the leaders of larger corporations that defraud US Tax payers of billions, or outright cause avoidable deaths. I'm thinking of CEOs of banks and the likes of Boeing.
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Was he over the threshold for being really rich? Jordan Belfort committed fraud to the tune of hundreds of millions. He went to rich person jail and had Tommy Chong for a cellmate. Tommy convinced Jordan to write a book and then we had this https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0... [imdb.com]
That's not enough money (Score:5, Informative)
If you're going to take those kind of criminal risks and live a 'luxury' lifestyle, you need significantly more... and you need to get the hell out to a non-extradition country you find comfortable before you're caught.
Re: That's not enough money (Score:3)
Thanks for advocating for this behavior and giving performance advice. That's just what we need, more criminality. We all should aspire to live the life of Trump, right?
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I wasn't advocating, I was mocking.
And for what it's worth - if you're American - getting triggered and raging about Trump online isn't going to accomplish anything. Fixing that mess is going to require risk and sacrifice.
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Despite receiving significant funding, his startup, Strategic Innovations, never made a dime or released any products to market
I thought "if he'd gone for a billion rather than 4 million he'd be just another unicorn and no-one would have batted an eyelid".
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Strong claims require strong evidence. Memorize this!
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I guess this cretin thinks that strong claims just need to be made strongly to get validity. Incidentally, there is research that many conservatives look at how convinced somebody is about what they say to "fact check". Explains a lot. Such a dysfunctional approach.
Re: (Score:1)
> ignore strong evidence even when it slaps them in the face.
Test that theory by giving us some...
> Even when they are breathing through toxic fibers and inhaling their own exhaust gases.
Show us the evidence. If it kills/sickens more often than it saves, there should be numbers. Where's the numbers? Linkem
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Grifters write books full of this conspiracy brainrot horseshit too, you're likely to see them promoted on Fox News.
Re: such irony. (Score:1)
Brave words from a nickless coward. How about improving the gene pool and fellating a .45?
A fool and their money (Score:3)
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Indeed. Except voting is not free at all, the bill just comes due bit later and there is one for not voting as well.
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The real question is how people get millions to throw away on a convicted scam artist to begin with.
The wealth inequality gap in the USA is huge. Yeah, a few normies get caught up in these scams, but for the most part it's just ultra-wealthy investors doing a "spray-and-pray" investment strategy. If you have enough money to spread around to every dumb idea that comes down the pipe, eventually a few of them will pan out and pay back handsomely. Most of the companies, however, will go bust, and a few will turn out to just be outright scams.
Some people just cannot handle money... (Score:2)
The amount of mental dysfunctionality expressed in something like this is incredible. Do these people think that they just can go on forever doing this?
WTF Slashdot? (Score:1, Offtopic)
This is a story about a minor tech figure committing a measly four million dollar fraud - 'slownewsday' stuff at its best. Meanwhile, not a peep about what Elon Musk has been up to over the past week.
You may think this is off-topic, but hear me out before donwmodding. Here we have the richest and best-known tech figure in the world pissing on the US constitution before dropping it on the ground and wiping his feet on it. He waltzes into government buildings with his criminal and anti-social baby tech-bro ha
Re:WTF Slashdot? (Score:5, Insightful)
I genuinely believe this tiny little pissant tech blog doesn't want to draw the ire of Musk. He literally could buy this site from the current owner with his weekend fun money and turn it into a site full of cats that look like Hitler. See, that's the funny thing about free speech, you're always free to speak but someone can still make you a damn good offer to shut up.
Re: WTF Slashdot? (Score:2)
Agree with both of you.
Musk and his affiliated tech bros are giving us nerds and geeks a bad name.
Really been hating on Musk the last several months more than Trump. Trump is just Musk's useful idiot, along with the rest of the oligarchical State. We're on our way to repeating mid-1800s+ America. I don't want to, and can't physically, wait 80 years for the next FDR. Can't we just skip the robber baron era, a Depression, and get to an FDR figure?
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Oh, if only Musk were the only problem. There's also a whole long list of other assholes out there who also want to destroy everything that keeps them from doing whatever they want. Musk is just convenient for them, if he will do it instead of someone else, they're happy to let him. Either he succeeds and they all benefit, or he succeeds and eventually goes to prison and they benefit more, or he fails and then he looks like the asshole instead of them. Project 2025 wasn't invented by Elon.
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If you feel that strongly about it, why don't you submit a bunch of stories here? Not just one, because it may or may not reach the front page, but several to up your chances of getting one posted? If it's that important to you, the least you can do is try to spread the word.
Misleading headline (Score:3)
The headline should read "California Con Artist Admits to Defrauding $4M For His Luxury Lifestyle".
Royce Newcomb was no "tech founder". HIs company never existed. He was just a garden-variety grifter who took advantage of the turmoil surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic to cheat a lot of gullible investors who couldn't be bothered to turn a background check on him.
Prime Candidate (Score:2)
Clearly, he's a winner. So, which agency is Trump going to put him over?
Fraud Registry (Score:3)
How is it that in America (Score:3)
One can smoke a joint, end up with a criminal record and have that result in you be unable to find work fucking up your life, but when you commit actual business fraud you're free to ... start another business?
We bar people who touch kids from going anywhere near a school, why are people convicted of fraud not completely blocked from any ability to work in a field which requires investors?
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Because those with money make the rules, and those with money are the ones who didn't get caught.
Re: How is it that in America (Score:2)
AFAIK if you are convicted you should still be able to start your own business once you are released from jail/prison. The issue is that it is quite difficult to get employed at a company that does background check.
In California there is the Fair Chance Act that bars companies from rejecting such candidates:
https://calcivilrights.ca.gov/... [ca.gov]
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes (Score:2)
Trump admin violates another court order (Score:2)
It sounds like the banks were not doing credit checks at all for PPP loans or they would have know that this guy was only out of prison because of COVID.
Too bad he can't run for US President (Score:2)