A Florida man impersonated a Saudi prince for decades, cheating investors out of millions of dollars

• A Florida man impersonated a Saudi prince for decades, cheating investors of millions of dollars. 
• Anthony Gignac, who had five aliases including Khaled Al-Saud, pleaded guilty to identity theft and fraud, after living a lavish lifestyle.
• Gignac has pretended to be a Saudi royal for decades, and has reportedly been charged numerous times. He now faces up to 20 years in prison.

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A Florida man who pretended to be a Saudi prince for decades has admitted to defrauding investors of millions of dollars.

Anthony Gignac, who went by the name Khaled Al-Saud, pleaded guilty to identity theft and fraud on Tuesday. According to the US attorney's office, the faux-prince and one of his co-conspirators created a fraudulent investment company, Marden Williams International LLC, in June 2015, and approached investors with "exclusive business opportunities."

One of the schemes was the pre-IPO of a real business in Saudi Arabia. A single investor gave Gignac approximately $5 million.

Gignac also developed an extravagant lifestyle to support his lies. The 47-year-old claimed he owned a residence on Fisher Island, an exclusive community off Miami Beach only accessible by ferry or helicopter. He had a sign on the front door which simply read "Sultan."

He told people he had diplomatic immunity, and drove a Ferrari with fake diplomatic license plates. He was gifted expensive jewelry and paintings based on his purported Saudi lineage. 

In March 2017, the phony royal attempted to purchase a multi-million dollar hotel in Miami, and stayed at the hotel using a credit card in the name of an actual member of the Saudi family.

Gignac also used several aliases for international travel. In November, he flew from London to New York City using a forged passport, before finally being apprehended by police.

When investigators searched Gignac's home in Miami, they discovered fraudulent diplomatic security badges, unauthorized credit cards, financial documents of a real royal Saudi, rounds of ammunition, and thousands of dollars in US currency.

This isn't the first time Gignac has been caught for impersonating a Saudi royal.

According to a 2008 profile by Ohio newspaper The Blade, Gignac assumed his Saudi identity at 17 and began scamming hotels, department stores, car dealerships, and credit card companies.

Court and prison documents reviewed by the Miami Herald reveal he was charged for similar crimes several times, the first time in 1991, then again in 1994, 1996, 2002, and 2006. His crime spree spanned California, Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, New York, and Florida, where he was most recently a resident. 

Gignac faces a maximum sentence of 20 years on fraud charges and is scheduled to be sentenced in August.

SEE ALSO: Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince is making moves to bring a Hyperloop system to Riyadh

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NOW WATCH: Here's what 'Narcos' and 'Sicario' get right and wrong about drug cartels

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Andrew McCabe memo recalls conversation with Rod Rosenstein in which the deputy attorney general reportedly revealed Trump wanted him to mention Russia in statement on James Comey's firing

• Former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe documented a conversation with deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein, in which Rosenstein reportedly indicated President Donald Trump wanted him to mention Russia in a statement on the firing of then-FBI director James Comey.
• Rosenstein pointed to Comey's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation as the reasoning for Comey's dismissal in May 2017.
• According to a New York Times report published Wednesday, McCabe wrote a memo expressing concern that Rosenstein could have provided cover to Trump by not mentioning Russia in the statement on Comey's firing
• It was not immediately clear what Trump reportedly wanted Rosenstein to say about Russia in the statement that was used to justify Comey's firing — but afterward, Trump claimed that Comey told him he was not personally under investigation in the Russia probe.
• The circumstances surrounding these events are part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. 

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Former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe was concerned about remarks Rod Rosenstein reportedly made regarding the justification for James Comey's firing as director of the FBI.

After Comey was dismissed in May 2017, Rosenstein revealed that President Donald Trump wanted him to mention Russia in the statement outlining reasons for Comey's firing, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.

According to the newspaper, McCabe thought Rosenstein's comment suggested that he gave cover to Trump by not mentioning Russia in the statement on Comey. McCabe wrote a memo documenting the conversation.

Comey's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation was cited as the official reason for his termination.

The circumstances surrounding these events are part of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe, which has been ongoing since Mueller was appointed, shortly after Comey was fired. Among other things, Mueller's team is looking into whether Trump obstructed justice at any point since taking office.

It was not immediately clear what Trump reportedly wanted Rosenstein to say about Russia in that Comey statement. But Trump, in his letter to Comey, thanked him for saying he was not under investigation in the Russia probe.

Trump would mention Russia several more times in later conversations about Comey's firing, including during an NBC News interview and during a closed-door Oval Office meeting with some Russian diplomats..

McCabe, who was fired in March amid an internal investigation by the Office of the Inspector General, hinted that he was dismissed "because of the role I played, the actions I took, and the events I witnessed in the aftermath of the firing of James Comey."

"This has to be seen in the larger context," McCabe said in a statement in March. "And I firmly believe that this is an ongoing effort to undermine my credibility because of the work that I did on the Russia case, because of the investigations that I oversaw and impacted that target this administration."

"They have every reason to believe that I could end up being a significant witness in whatever the special counsel comes up with," McCabe said. "And so they are trying to create this counter-narrative that I am not someone who can be believed or trusted."

SEE ALSO: Trump reportedly lobbied Jeff Sessions to retake control of the Russia probe — making Sessions a key witness in the investigation

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NOW WATCH: Why Russia may not be as strong as most people think

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The Feds just charged a 'blockchain evangelist' who raised $21 million while claiming to work with Disney and Apple

• The Securities and Exchange Commission alleged that the blockchain startup Titanium Blockchain Infrastructure Services (TBIS) and its president Michael Stollaire violated federal securities laws in a $21 million fundraiser. 
• TBIS and Stollaire allegedly promoted fake business relationships with companies like Apple and Disney.
• The SEC has also alleged that Stollaire used part of the ICO funds to pay off personal credit cards and bills on his condo in Hawaii.

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The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged another blockchain startup with a fraudulent initial coin offering months after it raised $21 million from investors around the world. 

Titanium Blockchain Infrastructure Services (TBIS) raised its millions in the cryptocurrency fundraising technique known as an initial coin offering (ICO). The SEC alleges that this money was raised between November 2017 and January 2018 using fraudulent claims. 

“This ICO was based on a social media marketing blitz that allegedly deceived investors with purely fictional claims of business prospects,” said Robert A. Cohen, chief of the SEC's Cyber Unit. 

The SEC's complaint, filed on May 22 and unsealed on Tuesday, alleges that TBIS and its president Michael Stollaire made false statements and fabricated testimonials in order to gain investors trust.

During that time, Stollaire claimed to have business relationship with well-known companies such as PayPal, Apple, The Walt Disney Company and the Federal Reserve, according to the SEC. 

Stollaire allegedly used proceeded from the ICO to pay off personal credit cards and pay bills on a his condominium in Hawaii.

The SEC announced Tuesday that it obtained a court order to halt the Titanium ICO as well as an emergency asset freeze.

Charges against TBIS come as the government ramps up its efforts to regulate cryptocurrency and blockchain companies, while putting an end to fraud in the space.

In April, three founders behind the cryptocurrency credit card company Centra were charged and arrested on allegations of fraud after raising $32 million in an ICO. 

Stollaire could not immediately be reached for comment.

SEE ALSO: 9 star lawyers helping blockchain companies navigate the tricky waters of cryptocurrency regulation

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Prosecutors say the father of the 4-year-old boy rescued by the 'Spider-Man of Paris' was playing Pokémon Go at the time

• The father of the four-year-old boy rescued in the viral "Spiderman rescue" video was playing the game "Pokemon Go" at the time, prosecutors allege.
• The game, which became immensely popular when it released in 2016, uses augmented-reality technology to make it appear as if Pokemon are living in the real world.
• The father faces two years in prison for his neglect.

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The viral "Spiderman rescue" video, in which an immigrant from Mali rescued a four-year-old child dangling from a balcony outside of an apartment in Paris, led many viewers to ask: Where were the parents?

French prosecutors claim the boy's father left his young son at home to go shopping, but instead of coming right back, he decided to play "Pokémon Go," the mobile game that achieved viral fame when it released in 2016. Meanwhile, his son was found dangling from the apartment's balcony by a crowd of Parisian onlookers, prompting a Mali immigrant, Mamoudou Gassama, to scale the side of the building and rescue him. 

The father faces two years in prison for endangering his child, while Gassama has been offered citizenship by President Emmanuel Macron.

"Pokemon Go" utilizes the phone's camera to make it appear as if Pokemon are appearing in the real world (by showing them on-screen). The game was an instant hit and was downloaded over 500 million times before the end of the year, but was also criticized for causing people to stop paying attention to their surroundings, including while driving. The game has since declined in popularity. 

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Morgan Freeman's lawyer demands that CNN retract its sexual harassment story on the actor

• An attorney for Morgan Freeman sent a letter to CNN president Jeff Zucker demanding the retraction of a CNN report in which eight women accused the actor of inappropriate behavior, including sexual harassment.
• In the letter, obtained by multiple outlets on Tuesday, Freeman's lawyer called the CNN report a "product of malicious intent, falsehoods, slight-of-hand [sic], an absence of editorial control, and journalistic malpractice."

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A lawyer for Morgan Freeman is demanding the retraction of a CNN report published last week, in which eight women accused the actor of inappropriate behavior, including sexual harassment.

Freeman's attorney, Robert M. Schwartz, sent a 10-page letter to CNN president Jeff Zucker saying that CNN's report "defamed" and "inflicted serious injury" on Freeman and his career. The letter was obtained by multiple outlets on Tuesday, including Variety and Deadline. 

"At a minimum, CNN immediately needs to issue a retraction and apologize to Mr. Freeman through the same channels, and with the same level of attention, that it used to unjustly attack him on May 24," Schwartz wrote. 

Schwartz wrote that his law firm had begun an investigation into the report, which he called a "product of malicious intent, falsehoods, slight-of-hand [sic], an absence of editorial control, and journalistic malpractice."

The attorney wrote that CNN reporter Chloe Melas, who cowrote the report and accused Freeman of making inappropriate comments about her appearance at a press junket last year, had "no reasonable basis" to interpret what Freeman said to her as harassment.

Melas said Freeman told her during a 2017 interview when she was six months pregnant, among other comments, that "you are ripe."

"Videotape confirms that his statement had nothing to do with [Melas] and was not harassing. And an independent third party, the Warner Bros. Human Resources Department, investigated her claim and concluded that it was not supported by the facts," Schwartz wrote. 

Among the seven other accusers in the report, an unnamed production assistant who worked on the set of the 2017 movie "Going in Style" said she experienced several months of sexual harassment from Freeman on the film's set, including unwanted touching and comments. The woman said Freeman "kept trying to lift up my skirt and asking if I was wearing underwear."

"Ms. Melas baited and prodded supposed 'witnesses' to say bad things about Mr. Freeman and tried to get them to confirm her bias against him. Thus, no reader of the article can have any confidence that any of the anonymous sources, which make up the balance of CNN's article, can be relied upon at all," he continued.

CNN did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Read the attorney's full letter at Deadline. 

SEE ALSO: 8 women accuse Morgan Freeman of inappropriate behavior, including sexual harassment

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The company behind the biggest game of 2017 is suing the company behind the biggest game of 2018 — here's what's going on

The company behind the biggest game in the world, "Fortnite," is being taken to court by the studio responsible for the second-biggest game in the world, "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" ("PUBG"). 

Stranger still: The two companies involved — Bluehole Studios ("PUBG") and Epic Games ("Fortnite") — both share a mutual investor, Chinese holding company Tencent.

Bluehole's suit claims that Epic is infringing on its copyright. Bluehole intends to enforce its claim by suing Epic Games in South Korea, Bloomberg reported on Monday night.

This isn't the first time that Bluehole has claimed Epic's "Fortnite" is copying "PUBG." Soon after "Fortnite" added its "Battle Royale" mode in September 2017, Bluehole VP and executive producer Chang Han Kim made his company's feelings about it clear: "We are concerned that 'Fortnite' may be replicating the experience for which 'PUBG' is known," Kim said in a press release. It's also not the first time that Bluehole has taken legal action to protect its "Battle Royale" concept.

Here's a brief history of the ongoing battle over Battle Royale:

SEE ALSO: Why isn't Fortnite, the world's most popular game, on Nintendo's Switch?

DON'T MISS: Over 45 million people are playing a bizarre shooter that pits 100 players against each other in a fight to the death — here's what's going on

First, what is "PUBG"?

You're jammed in a crappy plane with 100 other people, flying above an abandoned ex-Soviet island. You can jump whenever you want, knowing that as you plummet to the ground, 99 other people are plotting your imminent death. Of course, you're plotting theirs as well, just as soon as you can get your hands on a weapon.

Thankfully, though the island is uninhabited aside from you and the enemy players, its abandoned buildings — houses, hospitals, gas stations, etc. — are packed with P9s, AKs, and plenty of body armor.

As you scramble to put together a small arsenal and supplies for survival, you're also contending with the other 99 people doing the same thing. Sometimes those folks want to fight. Sometimes they're unarmed and just as terrified of you as you are of them.

Every interaction with another player in "PUBG" is a gamble, which is why it's so excellent.

"PUBG" is a breakout hit — the hottest game of 2017 by far — and an ongoing moneymaker.

It's hard to know exactly how much money "PUBG" has made, but we do know that it's significant. On the PC's wildly popular Steam service, where it first launched as an unfinished "Early Access" game for $30, "PUBG" is the third-highest grossing of all-time. 

The latest sales numbers put "PUBG" somewhere in the realm of 30 million lifetime sales on PC alone. That's just shy of $1 billion in gross revenue in a single year.

That doesn't take into account the mobile version of the game — "PUBG" is available on both iPhone and Android, unlike "Fortnite" — nor does it account for sales on the Xbox One (which have been similarly brisk). 

It continues to be the most-played game on Steam on a regular basis. Nearly 1.5 million people were playing it at the same time on Tuesday.

So, what is "Fortnite"?

"Fortnite" is a third-person shooter that's also focused on survival gameplay. You, or you and a group of friends, take on hordes of enemies from the tentative safety of a fort you've crafted. It's available on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC, and Mac.

There's a cartoony art style to "Fortnite," which tonally fits in alongside the game's goofy dialog; there's a playful tone about everything in "Fortnite," which is starkly different from the dreary, dire tone of "PUBG." Moreover, the core of "Fortnite" is very different from "PUBG" — it's essentially a "tower defense" game.

In "Fortnite," like other tower-defense games, you're defending an immobile thing from waves of enemies. You have a period of time before the attack begins, when you're able to set up defenses (turrets, traps, walls, etc.). Once you trigger the battle, you must defend whatever that aforementioned thing is from being attacked. If you survive those waves, you've succeeded. 

This isn't the stuff that Bluehole takes issue with.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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A 25-year-old serial 'swatter' has been indicted for allegedly making a bomb threat during the FCC's net neutrality vote that forced the entire building to evacuate

• Tyler Raj Barris, 25, has been indicted for allegedly making hoax bomb threats to the FCC during the net neutrality hearings, and to the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.
• He was already awaiting trial for involuntary manslaughter for his alleged role in the death of a gamer in a "swatting" incident, in which a false call was made to police to illicit the response of a S.W.A.T. team.
• He faces two counts of making hoax bomb threats, as well as the charges from the "swatting" incident.

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The same man who was charged for a "swatting" incident, in which a man was killed by police, has been indicted for allegedly making bomb threats to the FBI headquarters and to the FCC during the net neutrality vote. 

Tyler Raj Barriss, 25, from Los Angeles California, also known as his online alias "SWAuTistic," has been indicted on two counts of making hoax bomb threats.

The first threat targeted the FCC during the net neutrality hearing on December 14, 2017, the Department of Justice said. The call resulted in the evacuation of the building and briefly delayed the vote.

Then, on December 22, 2017, Barriss allegedly made another call to FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. and claimed there were bombs planted in the building. Both calls were determined to be hoaxes, and both charges carry a maximum of 20 years in prison. 

When he was indicted for the bomb threat hoaxes, Barriss was already detained for allegedly making false emergency calls to police in a method known as "swatting," where police are given fake but concerning information about a specific target, to the point where the use of a S.W.A.T. team is warranted. Barriss is awaiting trial for an incident in December 2017, when the Department of Justice claims he "swatted" someone after an argument in an online game. When police arrived at the house, they killed the man who answered the door, Andrew Finch, 28, from Wichita, Kansas. Barriss has been charged with involuntary manslaughter for his alleged role in Finch's death. 

Barriss has been charged with hoax bomb threats before, when he allegedly threatened a Glendale, California news station. He claims to have "swatted" more than 100 schools and about 10 homes or residences. 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Steve Jobs made 3 AM phone calls to argue about Apple ads

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8 women accuse Morgan Freeman of sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior

• Eight women accused Morgan Freeman of sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior in a CNN report published Thursday. 
• The accusers included CNN reporter Chloe Melas, the coauthor of CNN's report, who alleged that Freeman subjected her to inappropriate comments about her appearance at a press junket.
• Altogether, CNN spoke to 16 people who "described a pattern of inappropriate behavior by Freeman" on film sets, in his work at his production company, Revelations Entertainment, and in media interviews.

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Eight women accused Morgan Freeman of sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior in a report published by CNN on Thursday.

CNN spoke to 16 people altogether in a "months-long reporting process" who "described a pattern of inappropriate behavior by Freeman" on the sets of several of his films, in his work at his production company, Revelations Entertainment, and in media interviews.

Freeman's representatives did not respond to multiple requests for comment from CNN and did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Three reporters, including CNN reporter Chloe Melas, the coauthor of CNN's Thursday report on the allegations, alleged that Freeman made inappropriate comments about their appearances at press junkets.

Melas, who was six months pregnant at the time of her alleged incident in 2017, said Freeman told her, among other comments, that "you are ripe."

Among the five other accusers, an unnamed production assistant who worked on the set of Freeman's 2017 movie "Going In Style" said that she experienced several months of sexual harassment from Freeman on the film's set, including unwanted touching and comments.

The woman said that Freeman "kept trying to lift up my skirt and asking if I was wearing underwear." She said that Freeman only stopped when Alan Arkin, his costar on the film, "made a comment telling him to stop," after which "Morgan got freaked out and didn't know what to say."

Eight of the 16 people CNN spoke to said they witnessed various instances of Freeman's alleged misconduct.

Read CNN's full report here.

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A Chinese-Australian billionaire funded UN bribes investigated by the FBI, an Australian politician alleges

• An Australian billionaire and political donor allegedly funded a $200,000 bribe to a former president of the UN General Assembly, according to an Australian MP.
• The MP said he "confirmed" the identity of the alleged co-conspirator from US authorities.
• The UN president took $1.3 million in bribes in exchange for helping Chinese business interests.
• Billionaire Chau Chak Wing is an influential donor who has attracted attention in the past.

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An Australian MP took an extraordinary step on Tuesday night when he claimed a mystery co-conspirator in an FBI bribery case is a Chinese born, Australian billionaire.

Andrew Hastie, the chair of Australia’s intelligence and security committee, identified political donor and philanthropist Chau Chak Wing as "co-conspirator 3 [CC-3]" who allegedly funded a $200,000 bribe to UN General Assembly president John Ashe in 2013.

Hastie met with US authorities last month where he said he "confirmed" the identity of CC-3, and then made the statement in parliament, a forum exempt from defamation laws, which Chau has used to sue multiple media outlets in the past.

"During discussions with US authorities I confirmed the long-suspected identity of CC-3. It is now my duty to inform the House and the Australian people that CC-3 is Dr Chau Chak Wing," Hastie said.

"CC-3 is a Chinese-Australian citizen, he has also been a very significant donor to both of our major political parties. He has given more than $4 million since 2004, he has also donated $45 million to universities in Australia," he said. [It is] the same man who conspired to bribe the UN president of the general assembly John Ashe."

An FBI indictment previously referred to CC-3 as a Chinese real estate developer who requested Ashe's attendance, in an official capacity, at a conference in China in return for a $200,000 payment. At that conference, Chauk and Ashe were photographed together, according to Hastie.

He added: "On November 4, 2013, John Ashe confirmed receipt of the $200,000 from China from one of CC-3's companies."

A number of defendants were convicted for supplying Ashe with $1.3 million in bribes, which he spent on Rolex watches, bespoke suits, BMW lease payments, and even a basketball court. The bribes were given in order to advance Chinese business interests.

"For reasons that are best undisclosed, the US government did not seek to charge CC-3 for his involvement in the bribery of John Ashe," said Hastie, adding that Chau has consistently disputed similar allegations in the past.

Hastie also suggested a link between Chauk and China's overseas influence arm, United Front. According to a government cable sent by a US consul general in China and described by Hastie, Chauk was allegedly the head of a business association that included the director of the United Front department and the association was "essentially a creature of the Chinese Communist Party's United Front program."

According to research by China expert Anne-Marie Brady, some of United Front's activities include "co-opting" members of the elite to promote Beijing's interests and using business people with links to the Chinese Communist Party to orchestrate targeted political donations.

Chau previously told The Australian he didn't have any connections with United Front.

"For clarity, I am not and have never been a member of the Chinese Communist Party, and I completely reject the suggestion I have acted in any way on behalf of, or under instruction from, that ­entity," he said.

Chinese interference is gaining more attention in Australia

Earlier this month, Hillary Clinton warned that countries need to take China's political interference "seriously."

"What we're seeing now is a desire by China to extend its influence and project its power. First throughout Asia — then, throughout the world," Clinton said. "I would hope that Australia would stand up against efforts under the radar, as we say, to influence Australian politics and policy."

Relations between Australia and China have significantly deteriorated since December last year when Canberra proposed broadening the definition of foreign interference, with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull citing "disturbing reports about Chinese influence."

"The central pillar of the government's counter foreign interference strategy is sunlight," said Hastie on Tuesday.

"In Australia it is clear that the Chinese Communist party is working to covertly interfere with our media, our universities, and also influence our political processes and public debates."

SEE ALSO: An Australian state is 'reviewing' its relationship with a Chinese government-run education program over fears of covert foreign influence

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9 star lawyers helping blockchain companies navigate the tricky waters of cryptocurrency regulation (SQ)

Considering bitcoin's origins as a decentralized technology designed to disrupt the world banking system, it's no surprise that the cryptocurrency community has a rather tepid relationship with financial regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

Meanwhile, alleged cryptocurrency scams like Centra Tech — which the SEC believes raised $32 million in a fraudulent initial coin offering last fall — have done little to help the relationship from the regulator's perspective.

Add this complicated background to the fact that the SEC is still developing its official policy on how to regulate cryptocurrencies, and you've got an incredibly vague and shaky legal environment from which to try to run a business.

Now, as companies big and small compete for a piece of the cryptocurrency pie, much of the ground work is being done by an invisible force in the C-suite: the general counsel — which is to say, cryptocurrency companies' in-house lawyers.

Many of the lawyers on this list have spent their careers in finance law or in-house at other tech companies. One lawyer went in-house just one year after finishing her law degree, while another held senior-level roles across three different presidential administrations before finding his way into the world of bitcoin. 

Whatever their experience, these 9 lawyers are helping some of the biggest names in cryptocurrency navigate the shaky and ever-changing landscape of blockchain regulation and compliance. 

Here's who you need to know. 

SEE ALSO: This partner at Sequoia Capital thinks cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups have big potential — and he's investing millions.

Brynly Llyr — Corporate Counsel at Ripple

Undergrad: Mills College
Law school: University of California, Berkeley 

Why you should know her: Llyr's career has spanned both tech and finance, making her uniquely qualified to work in cryptocurrency.

"I joined Ripple in 2016 for the company's technology and vision," Llyr told Business Insider. "Improving the efficiencies with payments helps real people around the world - many of whom are either shut out of the banking system altogether or are subject to high fees and poor visibility into the payment system."

Prior to joining Ripple, she was at PayPal and eBay for a combined total of five years and managed a range of issues from litigation to patents. Before that, she was at a law firm representing both corporate and individual clients in regulatory investigations, among other things. 

But one of Llyr's most defining experiences may likely be one that happened before she had a law degree at all. Llyr spent seven years as a project manager and stock broker at Charles Schwab, which gives her unparalleled understanding of the financial systems that Ripple is trying to conquer.

Mike Lempres — Chief Legal and Risk Officer at Coinbase

Undergrad: Dartmouth College
Law school: University of California, Berkeley 

Why you should know him: Lempres' career has spanned both public and private sectors, including time in senior government positions under three different presidential administrations.

He joined Coinbase in January from a similar role at another blockchain company, Bitnet Technologies. Before that, he was assistant general counsel at Silicon Valley Bank's financial group.

"I first heard about cryptocurrencies from friends who were on it very early. Later I was working at a bank that focused on technology companies in the Bay Area, and a few crypto companies were looking for a bank," Lempres told Business Insider. "The space was fascinating to me, and I began to believe it could change the world [...] I still love the technology and the legal art in this space. No looking back!"

Lempres also has a less conventional item on his resume — mayor of Atherton, an affluent Silicon Valley town and the most expensive zip code in America, which is home to influential tech billionaires like former HPE CEO Meg Whitman and former Google chairman Eric Schmidt. He still sits on the Atherton city council. 

Marco Santori — President and Chief Legal Officer at Blockchain

Undergrad: University of California, Berkeley 
Law school: University of Notre Dame 

Why you should know him: Santori is likely the crypto lawyer with the most name recognition among his peers — and with good reason. In addition to practicing law, he has been a central figure on the foundation level, helping bring legal clarity to a developing field. 

Santori joined Blockchain from Cooley LLP, where he was head of the financial technology group. While he's spent most of his career at law firms, Santori started building a name for himself in crypto around 2013, when he joined the Bitcoin Foundation as chairman of the regulatory affairs committee.

He even co-authored the authoritative white paper on Simple Agreements for Future Tokens (SAFT) — a new investment vehicle which has given venture capitalists and other investors a way to invest in blockchain startups outside of the traditional equity model. The SAFT model is used by top investors, like Sequoia Capital's Matt Huang, today. 

Read more about how SAFT investments have reimagined venture capital. 

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

source http://www.businessinsider.com/lawyers-blockchain-cryptocurrency-bitcoin-startups-2018-5

Netflix has a captivating true-crime series in 'Evil Genius,' the wild story of a 'pizza bomber heist'

• Netflix has a popular and compelling new docuseries in its recent original series, "Evil Genius."
• The four-part series explores the wild criminal case surrounding the 2003 death of Brian Wells, a pizza-delivery man who died after robbing a bank in Erie, Pennsylvania.
• "Evil Genius" has a 73% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but it has drawn significant buzz from audiences as another captivating entry in Netflix's true-crime catalog. 

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Netflix has another captivating docuseries in its recent original series, "Evil Genius: The True Story of America's Most Diabolical Bank Heist."

Over four episodes, the series explores the criminal case surrounding the 2003 death of Brian Wells, a pizza-delivery man who robbed a bank in Erie, Pennsylvania. Wells died shortly afterward when a bomb strapped to his neck detonated in front of police. 

The robbery was planned and executed by a group of four "fractured intellectuals," including a woman named Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong — a "middle-aged mastermind" grappling with mental illness — and her former fiance, Bill Rothstein, who are the focus of the series. 

Diehl-Armstrong died in federal prison in 2017, serving a life sentence for planning the heist and murder.

But "Evil Genius" complicates the narrative of the heist and case with new evidence and a noteworthy confession.  

Executive produced by Mark and Jay Duplass (the producers of Netflix's "Wild Wild Country"), "Evil Genius" has a 73% critic rating on the reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, but its 88% audience rating is reflective of the significant buzz the series has drawn since its release last Friday. 

CNN's Brian Lawry had one of the more laudatory reviews of the series, writing, "With Evil Genius there's actually a sense of discovery, and a crime spree so unusual that it genuinely approximates a Coen brothers movie, down to the quirky assortment of culprits and stooges."

Watch a trailer for the series below, and find "Evil Genius" on Netflix.

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Meet the man behind the Trump-Russia investigation: the special counsel Robert Mueller

Robert Mueller is leading the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 elections, which on Thursday has officially gone on for a year.

That probe is also examining whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin, and if President Donald Trump has obstructed justice while in office.

In Washington, Mueller has a reputation for being a tenacious investigator. Both Republicans and Democrats welcomed his appointment last May with bipartisan backing.

But the increasing breadth and length of his investigation has irked many Trump supporters, and the president himself.

Mueller's colleagues, meanwhile, say he has proven his bipartisan bona fides over the years. After all, he served under both Republican and Democratic presidents as FBI director and as an attorney in the Department of Justice.

As the probe into Trump and his associates wages on, here's a look at Mueller's history:

SEE ALSO: Here's how long investigations like the one into Trump and Russia usually last

DON'T MISS: Senate intel panel breaks with Trump and House Republicans, concludes Russia meddled in the 2016 election to help Trump and hurt Clinton

Born Robert Swan Mueller III in New York City in 1944, "Bob" grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, the elder brother to four younger sisters. Their father was an executive at DuPont. He captained the soccer, hockey, and lacrosse teams in high school.

Sources: FBI, St. Paul's School

Mueller went to undergrad at Princeton University, got his Master's in international relations from New York University, and graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1973.

Source: FBI

When one of his friends died in the Vietnam War, Mueller was inspired to join the military. He had been previously pursuing a career in the medical field.

Source: Princeton Alumni Weekly

 

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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HBO is making a series that will 're-examine' the murder case of the 'Serial' podcast

• HBO and Sky Atlantic are making a documentary series that will "closely re-examine" the murder case of Adnan Syed, the subject of the popular podcast "Serial."
• The four-hour series, directed by Oscar-nominated documentarian Amy Berg, is titled "The Case Against Adnan Syed."
• The series promises "new discoveries, as well as groundbreaking revelations that challenge the state's case" in Syed's trial.

---

HBO is teaming with the UK's Sky Atlantic to release a documentary series following the murder case and conviction of Adnan Syed, the subject of the first season of the popular podcast "Serial" from 2014.

Directed by Oscar-nominated documentarian Amy Berg ("Deliver Us From Evil"), the four-hour series is titled "The Case Against Adnan Syed." 

The series will "closely re-examine" the 1999 disappearance and murder of 18-year-old Baltimore high school student Hae Min Lee, and the subsequent conviction of Syed, her ex-boyfriend.

A press release on the series states that the show will present "new discoveries, as well as groundbreaking revelations that challenge the state's case."

Syed was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 2000 for Hae Min Lee's murder. In March of this year, Maryland's court of special appeals granted a retrial for Syed's case. The Baltimore Sun reported this week that Syed's prosecutors had asked the court to reverse the retrial ruling. 

Berg has been working on "The Case Against Adnan Syed" since 2015, per the release. The show will also feature original music from singer-songwriter Nick Cave. 

"We'll be offering viewers a compelling window into one of the most talked about murder cases in recent years," Sky director of programming Zai Bennett told Variety of the series. "The hugely talented Amy Berg has unprecedented access to those closest to the investigation, which is sure to make unmissable viewing."

HBO has not yet announced a release date for the series. 

SEE ALSO: The best TV show of 2018 on each network so far — from FX to Netflix to HBO

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John Oliver mocks AT&T for paying Michael Cohen to 'understand' Trump's thinking

• John Oliver on Sunday's "Last Week Tonight" mocked AT&T for paying Michael Cohen, President Trump's personal attorney, for "insights into understanding" Trump's thinking. 
• "They put their trust in a political novice who turned out to be a total moron and was actually just bilking them for personal gain," Oliver said of AT&T and the several companies that admitted to paying Cohen.
• "You want to know how the Trump administration works? Congratulations, you just got a f---ing master class," he continued. 

---

John Oliver turned his attention, on the latest episode of "Last Week Tonight," to the series of controversies surrounding President Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen. 

"Donald Trump's personal lawyer and a lawyer so sh---y, he made Trump say, 'I need someone good — get me Rudy Giuliani on the phone,'" Oliver joked. 

In January, a Wall Street Journal report revealed that Cohen had facilitated a $130,000 hush payment to the porn actress Stormy Daniels in the final weeks of the 2016 election campaign to prevent her from coming forward about an alleged affair with Trump.  

Last week, Cohen drew further scrutiny after a report from Stormy Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, alleged that Cohen's shell company, Essential Consultants LLC, accepted payments from corporations that included AT&T, Novartis, and Korea Aerospace Industries. 

Oliver proceeded to mock AT&T, which is currently in a legal battle with the Justice Department over its proposed merger with HBO's parent company, Time Warner, for the company's statement addressing the controversy, saying that they paid Cohen to "provide insights into understanding the new administration."

"If you want to understand this president’s thinking," Oliver said, "simply have a donkey kick you in the head five times and then watch Fox News for 72 hours straight. That would give you a pretty good idea of what’s going on his mind."

"These companies got exactly what they paid for, because they wanted to understand how the Trump administration worked, and think about it: They put their trust in a political novice who turned out to be a total moron and was actually just bilking them for personal gain," Oliver said of Cohen.

"So, you want to know how the Trump administration works? Congratulations, you just got a f---ing master class."

Watch a clip from the episode below: 

SEE ALSO: The best TV show of 2018 on each network so far — from FX to Netflix to HBO

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Dr. Dre lost a trademark battle to a gynecologist in Pennsylvania called Dr. Drai

• Dr. Dre has lost a trademark battle to a gynecologist called Dr. Drai, BBC News reports.
• Dre, whose real name is Andre Young, filed a complaint in 2015 against Draion M. Burch, saying that Burch's moniker would cause "confusion" for consumers.
• Burch argued that consumers would be unlikely to confuse him with Young "because Dr. Dre is not a medical doctor."
• The US Patent and Trademark Office dismissed Young's case in a ruling last week.
  

---

Dr. Dre lost a long-running trademark dispute this week to a Pennsylvania-based gynecologist who was looking to trademark the name Dr. Drai, BBC News reports.

Dr. Dre, whose real name is Andre Young, filed a complaint in 2015 against the gynecologist, Draion M. Burch, saying that Burch's "Dr. Drai" moniker would cause "confusion" in the marketplace, as Burch intended to sell audio books and web seminars using the name.

But the US Patent and Trademark Office dismissed Young's case in a ruling last week, saying that the music mogul failed to show how people would be misled into buying Burch's products, according to the BBC. 

Burch argued in the case that consumers would be unlikely to confuse him with Young "because Dr. Dre is not a medical doctor nor is he qualified to provide any type of medical services or sell products specifically in the medical or healthcare industry."

He also stated that an association with Young would be "a bad reflection on me as a doctor," citing "misogyny and homophobic things" in Young's rap lyrics, according to The Washington Post. 

Burch, whose website touts himself as "One of America’s Top Women's Health Experts," is the author of a book called "20 Things You May Not Know About the Vagina," and the host of web seminars with titles like "What Your Mama Didn’t Tell You About Making Babies."

Young, the cofounder of headphone company Beats by Dre and a legendary producer and rapper, is currently working on new solo music to follow up his 2015 album "Compton."

SEE ALSO: The 50 best-selling music artists of all time

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NOW WATCH: Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump tried to cut a secret deal with Planned Parenthood — here's what happened

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Uber has hired a former head of the national transportation safety agency following the company's fatal Arizona crash

• Uber announced Monday that it has hired a former chairman on the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to advise the company on safety culture following a fatal Arizona crash involving one of its self-driving cars.
• The announcement coincides with The Information's report that Uber determined the fatal crash was caused by a problem with the software that detected the pedestrian yet decided no reaction was needed.
• The company said Monday that a full safety review of its self-driving vehicle program is underway as well.

---

Uber Technologies said Monday it has hired a former National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chairman to advise the company on its safety culture after a fatal self-driving crash in Arizona.

Online news outlet The Information reported Monday that Uber has determined the likely cause of the fatal collision was a problem with the software that decides how the car should react to objects it detects. The outlet said the car’s sensors detected the pedestrian but the software decided it did not need to react right away.

“We have initiated a top-to-bottom safety review of our self-driving vehicles program, and we have brought on former NTSB Chair Christopher Hart to advise us on our overall safety culture,” Uber said Monday. “Our review is looking at everything from the safety of our system to our training processes for vehicle operators, and we hope to have more to say soon.”

A 49-year-old woman was killed on March 18 after being hit by an Uber self-driving sports utility vehicle while walking across a street in Phoenix, leading the company to suspend testing of autonomous vehicles. Arizona’s governor also ordered a halt to Uber’s testing.

Uber declined to comment on the Information report. “We can’t comment on the specifics of the incident,” the company said, citing the ongoing NTSB investigation.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is also investigating the incident.

Uber Chief Executive Dara Khosrowshahi said in April the ride-sharing company still believes in the prospects for autonomous transport. “Autonomous (vehicles) at maturity will be safer,” he said at a Washington event.

SEE ALSO: Uber and Lyft are changing where rich people buy homes

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NOW WATCH: What Trump University was really like — according to a former professor

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As much as $600,000 in cash fell out of a truck on the highway — and police are asking people who took the money to return it or be charged with theft

• Hundreds of thousands of dollars billowed out of the back of a Brinks armored truck on Interstate 70 in Indianapolis on Thursday.
• It's not clear how much money is currently unaccounted for, but police at the scene initially estimated the amount could be as high as $600,000.
• Police say that anyone who picked up money will be charged with theft if they do not return the cash.

---

Drivers on Interstate 70 in Indianapolis, Indiana, were unexpectedly showered with hundreds of thousands of dollars after the back of a Brinks armored truck blew open on the interstate.

Fox 8 reported that the truck's back security door swung open around 9 a.m. on Thursday. It's not clear how the door came open.

Law enforcement initially estimated that as much as $600,000 was deposited on the interstate. But Indiana State Police Public Information Officer Sergeant John Perrine told AP that it's not clear how much money is currently unaccounted for.

Some drivers reportedly pulled over along the road to scoop up as many loose bills as they could. Other individuals ran over on foot to collect some of the discarded bills.

"Bags of money were falling out of the back onto the interstate," Indiana State Police Corporal Brock McCooe told Fox 8. "Sort of something out of a movie scene, where you have bills, loose bills flying all over the interstate, vehicles stopping, people getting out of their cars."

Perrine tweeted that troopers were looking for anyone who stopped to pick up money, saying these individuals can be "charged with theft." The police department said it is already receiving tips with license plate numbers. He advised that drivers who stopped to collect money contact the Indiana State Police in order to return the bills.

This is the second recent incident involving a Brinks armored truck in Indiana. On April 28, two armed men reportedly made off with at least $500,000 after holding up a Brinks truck in Hammond, Indiana, according to a report from the Northwest Indiana Times.

SEE ALSO: The most memorable and expensive financial fraud cases of all time

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NOW WATCH: This guy's car was getting stolen — so he jumped through the window and took out the alleged thief

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Jeff Sessions said immigrants should 'wait their turn' to come to the US — here's how complicated that process can be

• Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday warned migrants from the "caravan" that traveled through Mexico last month not to cross into the US illegally.
• Though the migrants are applying for asylum — a legally protected process — Sessions suggested that the migrants were "stampeding" the border and crossing illegally.
• He said migrants should "wait their turn" and immigrate legally. But for many of those migrants, legally seeking asylum is their only option.

---

Dozens of migrants from the "caravan" that traveled through Mexico last month have now set foot on American soil and begun applying for asylum, despite the Trump administration's best efforts to deter them.

President Donald Trump has railed against the caravan for weeks, tweeting that the migrants were "defying our borders" and "had better be stopped" before crossing into the US.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions even announced on Wednesday that the Justice Department would send dozens of prosecutors and immigration judges to the US-Mexico border, in part because of the caravan. He accused the migrants of "stampeding" the border, and suggested they were illegally crossing into the US.

But so far, the roughly 200 migrants in the caravan have been waiting outside the San Ysidro port of entry, waiting for a chance to apply for asylum — a process legally protected under current domestic and international law.

Sessions nevertheless told migrants to "make your claim to enter America in the lawful way and wait your turn."

But the asylum-seeking process is a legal one that can only take place once a migrant is already on US soil. Nevertheless, Sessions urged the migrants to apply for legal immigration status before showing up at a port of entry.

"We want the world to know, and particularly our friends in the south, in central America and Mexico and other countries — we want them to know that we have a generous legal system for immigration," he said. "We admit 1.1 million people lawfully every year, and those people should wait their turn."

Sessions did not clarify what visas he believed the migrants should have applied for, but immigration advocates have long sought to highlight how impossible it can be to navigate the US immigration system. For many would-be immigrants, there is no "turn" they can wait for, and no line to stand in.

America's immigration system is designed to only admit newcomers who fall into very specific categories. If someone falls outside those cases, as many central American migrants do, lawful immigration will be challenging, if not impossible.

Here are the many pathways and roadblocks to lawful immigration:

It should be noted that the immigration process for asylum-seekers and refugees are a whole other matter — refugees, for instance, don't necessarily choose to come to the US. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees determines which countries they are placed in.

Asylum-seekers, like the caravan migrants, typically do choose the US, but they'll be deported if they can't prove they have a credible fear of facing persecution or torture in their home countries. The Trump administration has already indicated they believe many of the caravan members will be unable to prove their claims of credible fear.

So for people who can't prove a credible fear of torture or persecution, who don't have immediate family members in the US, and who don't have an employer willing to embark on an expensive and lengthy green card application process, the immigration pathways are limited and difficult to navigate.

SEE ALSO: 'I don't know how much harder it can get': What it takes to go from refugee to American

DON'T MISS: The caravan of migrants that Trump warned 'had better be stopped' has already begun entering the US

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NOW WATCH: These are the biggest myths about refugees coming to the US

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'The safety of the world is at stake': Rudy Giuliani cites North Korea in dramatic rebuke of Mueller's effort to interview Trump

• Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor and a recent addition to President Donald Trump's legal team, said he was leaning toward postponing a possible interview between President Donald Trump and special counsel Robert Mueller.
• Giuliani cited national security concerns, such as the upcoming summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as one reason why the Mueller interview should be shelved for now.
• He wrote off the forthcoming Mueller-Trump interview as "bullsh--t."

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Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor and a recent addition to President Donald Trump's legal team, said he was leaning toward postponing a possible interview between Trump and special counsel Robert Mueller until after the upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Citing national security concerns, Giuliani suggested that having Mueller interview Trump for his ongoing Russia investigation before the summit could have a negative impact and derail the progress in North Korea relations.

"The safety of the world is at stake," Giuliani said, according to The Wall Street Journal. "I can't possibly tell the president or Gen. [John] Kelly or Mike Pompeo, or John Bolton, give me two days to prepare for a bulls--t interview that should never be taking place anyways."

The meeting, set to take place in late May or early June, has been highly anticipated due to its historic significance and the diplomatic engagement that stands in contrast to the bellicose rhetoric exchanged between Kim and Trump last year — Trump is set to become the first sitting US president to meet with a North Korean leader, and secretary of state Mike Pompeo visited North Korea and met with Kim in April.

Trump echoed Giuliani's sentiment in an early-morning tweet by quoting a remark from John Dowd, one of his former attorneys, that was published by The Washington Post on Tuesday.

"This isn't some game," Trump quoted Dowd as saying from The Post. "You are screwing with the work of the president of the United States."

"With North Korea, China, the Middle East and so much more, there is not much time to be thinking about this, especially since there was no Russian 'Collusion,'" Trump continued.

Trump has frequently bristled at Mueller and the Russia investigation, describing it as a "witchhunt" and insisting that there was no collusion between his 2016 presidential campaign and Russian operatives.

Mueller reportedly threatened Trump's legal team with a subpoena in March, if Trump chose to decline a voluntarily interview with federal prosecutors.

SEE ALSO: Former federal prosecutor says one of Trump's few options in the face of a grand-jury subpoena from Mueller could come at a hefty political cost

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NOW WATCH: Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump tried to cut a secret deal with Planned Parenthood — here's what happened

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'They better have an explanation for that': Laura Ingraham says Rudy Giuliani just created a major problem for Trump in the Stormy Daniels case

• Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor and recent addition to President Donald Trump's legal team, said that Trump repaid his longtime personal attorney, Michael Cohen, $130,000 for a payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
• Trump previously denied having knowledge about the payment.
• Fox News host Laura Ingraham pointed out the contradiction and said "they better have an explanation for that" during her program on Wednesday night.
• Giuliani later clarified his remarks and classified Trump's payments as "reimbursement" for "incidental expenses" for a combined total of $460,000 or $470,000 that Cohen had accrued on Trump's behalf.

---

Fox News host Laura Ingraham weighed in on Rudy Giuliani's unexpected admission Wednesday night that President Donald Trump reimbursed his longtime personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, for a $130,000 payment to the porn star, Stormy Daniels.

"They better have an explanation for that," Ingraham said, moments after Giuliani's interview with Sean Hannity aired, during which Giuliani made a number of bombshell remarks about Cohen, Trump, and the Russia investigation.

"[Trump] didn't know about the specifics of it, as far as I know," Giuliani told Hannity. "But he did know about the general arrangement, that Michael would take care of things like this, like I take care of things like this for my clients. I don't burden them with every single thing that comes along. These are busy people."

Trump previously told reporters that he did not know about the payment to Daniels, which was made as part of a nondisclosure agreement meant to prohibit Daniels from discussing a sexual affair she said she had with Trump. Trump also noted at the time that he did not know why Cohen made the payment or where he obtained the funds.

Immediately following the interview, Ingraham discussed Giuliani's remarks with conservative columnist Byron York.

"Well, these are real questions," York said. "Rudy just gave us a completely different version of this."

"First of all, [Giuliani] said 'paying some money to be quiet is not a criminal act, that's OK, and there was no campaign finance violations,'" York continued. "So it appears to me that the real concern is that there would be a campaign finance vulnerability on this."

"They might not have thought this whole thing through," York said, chuckling.

"I love Rudy, but they better have an explanation for that," Ingraham replied. "That's a problem."

Giuliani later clarified his remarks and classified Trump's payments as "reimbursement" for "incidental expenses." Trump paid Cohen a combined total of $460,000 or $470,000 that Cohen had accrued on his behalf, according to Giuliani.

"Some time after the campaign is over, they set up a reimbursement, $35,000 a month, out of his personal family account," he said, according to The New York Times.

SEE ALSO: Rudy Giuliani contradicts Trump, says the president knew about Michael Cohen’s $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels and reimbursed Cohen for it

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NOW WATCH: Why the Saudi crown prince met with Trump, Oprah, Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezos

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Cambridge Analytica is shutting down according to the Wall Street Journal

 

Cambridge Analytica, the data firm used by the 2016 Trump campaign at the center of a scandal involving the misuse of Facebook customer data, is shutting down its operations according to a Wall Street Journal report Wednesday citing an anonymous source.

According to the report, the firm is closing its doors because of it was losing clients in the wake of the Facebook scandal and was facing mounting legal fees related to the case. Employees of Cambridge Analytica were told to turn in their computers and the firm will shut down effective Wednesday, the report said.

The news would mark a stunning reversal for a firm that was once celebrated for pioneering a new tech-driven model for political campaigns to reach voters.  As recently as Tuesday, CA was fiercely defending its reputation with tweets imploring the public to "get the facts" and the truth behind the Facebook story.

Earlier on Wednesday, the tech blog Gizmodo reported that Cambridge Analyitca was shutting down its US offices. But the WSJ report appears to indicate an overall shutdown.

Cambridge Analytica did not immediately return Business Insider's requests for comment.

SCOOP on https://t.co/1F4iskuBMt: Cambridge Analytica is shutting down, effective today. pic.twitter.com/hZqbZiyRsA

— Rebecca Ballhaus (@rebeccaballhaus) May 2, 2018

 

Developing...

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