For His Next Act, Ousted Groupon CEO Andrew Mason Will Release an Album of 'Motivational Business Music'
You Jelly? Jack Dorsey, Al Gore, Bono Invest in Biz Stone's Stealth Startup
Three Men Arrested for Facebook IPO Scam (So At Least Somebody Made Money Off of It)
Three men in New Jersey were arrested yesterday for allegedly swindling nearly $7 million from an investor by claiming that they had “special access” to shares of Facebook prior to it going public last May.
Federal prosecutors arrested Aaron Muschel, 63, of Brooklyn, and Alex Schleider, 47 and Eliyahu Weinstein, 37, of Lakewood, N.J. and charged them with wire fraud conspiracy. Bloomberg reports that they offered a New Zealand investor “blocks of Facebook shares” even though the men had no access to them. They preyed off the near deafening buzz, that seemed to promise Great Gatsby-like riches, to those who cash in on the site’s IPO. Read More
Startup News: JackThreads Gets an iPad App, SoundCloud Opens a NYC Office and BitPay Expands
JackThreads Gets an iPads App Purveyor of men’s clothes and accessories JackThreads is attempting to seal up its lucrative mobile market. The company, described as ‘urbo-hipster’ by TechCrunch, is currently generating about 40 percent of revenue via its iPhone app. CEO Ben Lerer revealed how he was excited to “Roll out this beast to our guys.” Not sure if “beast” correctly describes a collection of blazers and jackets, but we wish them luck. Read More
Explain THAT, Clarissa: Melissa Joan Hart’s Failed Kickstarter Canceled
It’s helped celebs like Zach Braff and Kristen Bell pull together the cash for their passion projects, but it looks like the Kickstarter gravy train has finally dumped a famous person right on her ass. Childhood sassiness role model and erstwhile teen witch Melissa Joan Hart’s project has, sadly, failed abysmally.
Ms. Hart wanted to raise $2 million for Darci’s Walk of Shame, about a school teacher who has sex with a waiter while in Thailand for her sister’s wedding (really). She appealed to her fans: “By playing Darci, I will get the chance to once again be in a fun and hilarious Rom-Com much like Drive Me Crazy…only all grown up and having a roll in the hay with the hot actors in the film!” Read More
Warrant Reveals Homeland Security Seized Mt. Gox’s Dwolla Account for ‘Unlicensed Money Transmitting’
Yesterday the Department of Homeland Security shut down Bitcoin trading platform Mt. Gox’s ability to accept or send transfers using Dwolla, a mobile payment service. A representative from Dwolla told Betabeat that the DHS had sent them a “seizure warrant” for the account, but declined to provide further detail. Now, in the warrant, obtained by Ars Technica, the reason for the seizure has been revealed: DHS believes Mt. Gox is operating an “unlicensed money transmitting business.” Read More
To Hug or Not to Hug? Hacker News Commenters Unsure of How to Interact With Real Live Human Ladies
It’s simply a part of life: sometimes, when you emerge from the depths of the Internet to refill your Star Trek mug with Stumptown coffee, you accidentally encounter a real live girl. You know, that genre of human being that has boobs and always keeps a copy of Lean In on her desk. Your heart might skip a few beats as you’re forced to pass by her, dreading having to interact with someone outside of your favorite IRC channel. A wave of relief hits you as she keeps her eyes glued to the floor and doesn’t acknowledge you: you’re safe. For now. Read More
Just 10 Percent of People Will Buy Google Glass, Many Say It Looks ‘Socially Awkward’
Since Google has invented Glass, an intricately built face computer that’s only purpose is to display Reddit while showering, it now has to entice the public to buy the dopey devices. If a new survey is to be believed, that’ll be an uphill challenge: Just 10 percent of respondents would wear it on the regular–regardless of how much it costs. Read More
Here Are the Nominees for King and Queen of This Year’s Webutante Ball
The Webutante Ball, Internet Week’s “nerd prom” that people attend because they feel they have to, is swiftly approaching. Held at Marquee on May 23rd, the event attracts startup glitterati, media titans and various riffraff from The Scratcher. Read More
You Can See Virtual Versions of Eazy-E and ODB Perform Live (Kinda) This Summer
News from inside the Venn Diagram of rap and futurism: Vibe reports that this year’s edition of the touring hip-hop festival Rock the Bells will feature “original virtual performances” from both Eazy-E (with Bone Thugs-n-Harmony) and Ol’ Dirty Bastard (with the Wu-Tang Clan). Read More
RAMPAGE! Steve Ballmer Bound and Determined to Bring Basketball to Seattle
Looks like we’ve got a real barn-burner on our hands!
For months, hedge funder Chris Hansen and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer have worked to relocate the Sacramento Kings to Seattle, which has been NBA-less for five years. Their plan: to make the owners, the Maloofs, an offer they can’t refuse. But the mayor of Sacramento–who happens to be former NBA star Kevin Johnson–doesn’t want the team going anywhere. He’s rounded up rival techies who might buy from the Maloofs and prepared a big bushel of subsidies for them. Last month, the league rejected the Seattle group’s request to move the team.
And so here we are, at loggerheads and due for another NBA meeting today. But Steve Ballmer doesn’t do gridlock. A source tells NBC Sports: Read More
Booting Up: Google Might Roll Out a Spotify Competitor Today
PayPal is dropping processing charges for users of its mobile payment platform in an attempt to better take on Square and Groupon. [Verge]
Google is expected to debut a competitor to Spotify later today. Which one of you asked for this? [New York Times]
This is happening: “Boost VC is launching a fund of at least $300,000, called the Boost Bitcoin Fund to invest in Bitcoin startups.” [Forbes]
Airware, a company that creates the insides of unmanned drones, is now freshly funded. Andreessen Horowitz just pumped a $10.7 million Series A funding into it. [TechCrunch]
A Blackberry BBM app is coming to iPhone and Android phones this summer if you still remember your pins. [BGR]
