Quite possibly the funniest thing about all of this is that Josh honestly doesn't understand the severity of the crimes he has committed. He seems to think this is just a terminology issue or PR or marketing or something. Homero just doesn't realize how fucked he really is.
Then again, what do you expect from a high school dropout whose only skill is social engineering?
Oh he fucking understands. He is not going to be be able to plead stupid. He has been caught committing fraud and being told he was not doing thing legally. The stupid defense will not save this fucktard.
I tihnk you are both wrong. From reading his emails, I would bet you 10-1 odds he will proclaim his innocence and lay the blame on others (Joe, Eric, the accountant whose name I keep forgetting, Jonah, Adam from the Church, hell maybe even Jessica, etc.). He has already laid the groundwork in the emails if you read carefully between the lines. He will say that he told Joe or Eric to spec out the data center large enough to support all the hashpower needed; he will say that he was shocked when he discovered that some hash power was "virtual" and that was why he initiated the 5 Phs order with Bitmain; former employees were robbing him, taking out BTC for phony cash advances; Stuart will have lied to him about Cantor's valuation and support for the coin; etc etc.
If any of you think that convicting Garza will be easy, think again. There are some smoking gun emails, but nothing that he can't explain away and/or blame on others. Of course, the feds have access to stuff we don't so they may be able to trace BTC to wallets controlled by Garza or have other evidence that is damning .. but from what I have seen a conviction (beyond a reasonable doubt) is not a certainty yet.. and the credibility of testimony from his former employees and cohorts will be critical.
Exactly! There are many, many, many boxes that must be checked to win a case against GAW. Rules of Evidence, Rules of Civil Pro, etc. will are great little tools for excluding evidence or otherwise deploying obstacles designed to make proving a case extremely difficult.
[rest of post is general rant, not in response to eightcylinders]
Frankly, I'm not convinced GAW is more than a petty wannabe scammy business run by a wannabe high finance guy without any education and experience when it comes finance, economics, and business generally (I have a hunch Stu made JG a project following 9/11 or otherwise feels guilty or obligated about something). Consequently, I'm not sure that the feds will waste a ton of time on time on GAW beyond sending out a few subpoenas. I recommend that people go take a look at the SEC litigation releases, alj orders, FBI/DOJ press releases, etc.; its quite clear that such agencies will sit and investigate/monitor folks -including the worst of the worst - for years before making an arrest or commencing some sort of formal action. So, I don't think anything criminal or administrative is imminent whatsoever.
Final note: One problem with crypto-communities is free-riding and people being too afraid, shy, cheap, or ignorant to get off the computer and go talk with a professional or law enforcement officer face-to-face. People must be their own best advocates, which is not something that's done by most of the kids here. IRL is not google hangouts, reddit, bct, hashtalk, etc - and Garza knows that (although he's his own worst enemy in that regard). So, if you're going to go after him - get more clandestine, get off the computer, and do not advertise what you're up to - just do it.