Timothy Roberts, the founder and former CEO of leading Vapourware company Infinium Labs, has been accused by the US Securities and Exchange Commission of artificially inflating stock and selling it on at a $422,500 profit.
Roberts, with whom SPOnG once had a heated and rather hilarious argument, apparently hired a fax promotions company to spam out junk faxes to investors detailing the imminent launch of the aptly named Phantom console. Of course, this was a lie, and the only objective of the fax spam was to scam more money from gullible investors.
The Phantom, if you are not aware of it, came third on Wired’s list of vapourware products in 2003, went up to number one in 2004, and slipped back down to second in 2005, as you can see if you click here.
The Phantom is/was supposedly a set-top box games console which will deliver games on demand over broadband (er, isn’t that an Xbox 360? – Ed).
Following the fax spam scam, according to the SEC, Roberts sold 1.3 million shares from the company - undisclosed - and secretly paid the promoter he had hired, both actions that are against the law. Oops!
As a result, the SEC has instructed a court to force Roberts to surrender the cash, pay a penalty and to prohibit him from ever becoming a CEO again.
See all of SPOnG’s Infinium/Phantom coverage here. We hope this is the end of the sorry saga. We unfortunately suspect it’s not.
Roberts, with whom SPOnG once had a heated and rather hilarious argument, apparently hired a fax promotions company to spam out junk faxes to investors detailing the imminent launch of the aptly named Phantom console. Of course, this was a lie, and the only objective of the fax spam was to scam more money from gullible investors.
The Phantom, if you are not aware of it, came third on Wired’s list of vapourware products in 2003, went up to number one in 2004, and slipped back down to second in 2005, as you can see if you click here.
The Phantom is/was supposedly a set-top box games console which will deliver games on demand over broadband (er, isn’t that an Xbox 360? – Ed).
Following the fax spam scam, according to the SEC, Roberts sold 1.3 million shares from the company - undisclosed - and secretly paid the promoter he had hired, both actions that are against the law. Oops!
As a result, the SEC has instructed a court to force Roberts to surrender the cash, pay a penalty and to prohibit him from ever becoming a CEO again.
See all of SPOnG’s Infinium/Phantom coverage here. We hope this is the end of the sorry saga. We unfortunately suspect it’s not.
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Comments
MrPure 18 May 2006 21:27
1/2
Really? Cuz I didn't see that one coming.
SPInGSPOnG 19 May 2006 08:56
2/2
Investors in infinium labs, here's a top tip for you.
Instead of spunking your money away on this hare-brained get rich quick scheme, simply set fire to it, at least that way you get the benefit of the warmth.
Instead of spunking your money away on this hare-brained get rich quick scheme, simply set fire to it, at least that way you get the benefit of the warmth.