back to article Trustify CEO gets eight years for lying to investors, spending millions on homes, private jets, sports tickets

A tech CEO who lied to investors to get funding and then blew millions of it on maintaining a luxury lifestyle, which included private jets and top seats at sporting events, has been sentenced to just over eight years in prison. Daniel Boice, 41, set up what he claimed would be the “Uber of private investigators,” called …

  1. sbt
    Devil

    The 'Uber of...'

    That is not a positive claim financially or reputationally these days. Another reminder that 2015 was a more optimistic and innocent age.

    1. batfink

      Re: The 'Uber of...'

      He did sort of create another Uber. After all, Uber still loses millions.

      1. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

        Re: The 'Uber of...'

        Fortunately, their fake-taxi business is supported by their bilking-investors business.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    CEO statement should Shirly be...

    Your money is my top priority.

    I (sort of) hope all the investors get their money back.

    I hope a bit more that they learn to check what they are investing in more carefully, that has a wider impact than just their loss of money.

    As a big investor they might have the resources to get some of their investment back and/or write off the loss, Joe Chump has no chance.

    Sorry if there is anyone reading actually named Joe Chump.

  3. AlanSh

    How is he going to pay that back?

    Personally, I wouldn't have a clue how to find over $18m to pay the court fine. How do they expect him to do that? Or is it different over there?

    1. vtcodger Silver badge

      Re: How is he going to pay that back?

      I imagine to come by that sort of money he'll have to found another tech company. Something involving AI, quantum computing and blockchain should do the trick.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: How is he going to pay that back?

        I agree - you just collected all the buzz words they would go for. Add glossy brochure and presentation, and away you go.

        If you want investment, it appears, words and BS are what will seal the deal. The less verifiable and transparent things are, apparently the more investors will flock to you. Unbelievable.

    2. Big Softie

      Re: How is he going to pay that back?

      Good question...here in the UK they would simply deduct £1 a time from his jobseekers allowance until the debt is paid.....

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "In total, prosecutors say, Boice spent $3.7m on himself out of the $18m that was invested in the firm."

    Wondering how that compares to the CEOs of some other firms (that raised money by more, umm, conventional, means).

  5. Imhotep

    I'm sorry, your honor

    I would find remorse easier to believe if it came before being caught and sentenced.

  6. Potemkine! Silver badge

    "You show me a mail, I give you $2m" - Some people have a lot of cash to burn, haven't they?

    1. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

      Yeah, seems like taking a few minutes to verify that sort of thing might be in order.

      But, of course, there's ample evidence that plenty of people with money have no financial sense. Look at Madoff's clients, for example. Or any of the various lists of lottery winners who were broke a few years later. (I was just reading such a list the other day, and there's at least one guy who blew through some millions in winnings in 20 months.)

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Name of Brewster?

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Erm

    Due diligence?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Erm

      “I like money”

      -Frito

  8. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

    97 months?

    Is that all? For defrauding people out of 18 MEEEELION?

    I always find it interesting how white collar crime seems to incur such relatively low sentences compared to, say, a burglar.

    1. Clive Galway

      Re: 97 months?

      Or, say, protesting and "Causing an annoyance" which, if the Police and Sentencing bill passes, could get you locked up for 10 years

      1. Michael Wojcik Silver badge

        Re: 97 months?

        That's because peaceful protesters are a gang, y'know. Or, at any rate, the police and prosecutors are happy to lie and claim they are. And here in the US, we love punitive laws against gang members, whom we believe are generally poor and/or not white, and therefore deserving of harsher treatment.

        And, yes, this is not solely the result of the Republican party. Remember Clinton pushing that "super-predator" bullshit? And while the Obama administration was more interested in casting POTUS as an absolute ruler and cranking up deportations, Eric Holder and his chums didn't do a hell of a lot to rein in the incarceration state.

        Abuse of police and incarceration powers, and extreme inequities in that abuse, are an American tradition that's long been popular with government officials of every stripe.

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