Author

Topic: President of BFL is a photographer by trade ? (Read 8010 times)

newbie
Activity: 30
Merit: 0
September 23, 2012, 01:22:14 PM
#52
So this guy gets convicted of lottery fraud by taking money in advance from victims and promising them a larger payout. What he ends up doing is paying out smaller than promised using the money from his latest victims.

Now he is taking pre-orders on devices promising purchasers a level of performance that will forever change bitcoin mining, but with no actual proof of concept.

Apples to apples this guy releases a product that underperforms based on the companies hype. It's actually perfect timing for a scam of this magnitude as the payout is about to halve.

He may have a track record with previous devices (and has also released underperforming products), but I think we've all learned that in the BTC community, track records are trivial measures of honesty.
legendary
Activity: 1946
Merit: 1006
Bitcoin / Crypto mining Hardware.
September 21, 2012, 05:09:18 PM
#51
Yes
This is Very Very interesting!

Here is a list of Mosis Fab schedule. I wonder if BFL is using Mosis.

http://www.mosis.com/products/fab-schedule
donator
Activity: 151
Merit: 100
Assholier-than-thou retard magnet
September 21, 2012, 04:56:57 PM
#50
Yes
Thanks for clearing that up Inaba.

Maybe he was answering "Yes" to another post.  Ask him what the licensing cost was. ;>

For extra credit, ask how often it crashed or produced incorrect results.
Heh, maybe he used different tools, but I know I've had Cadence/Virtuoso up and decided it wanted to shut down a few times on me, and I haven't used it much. Luckily I was running on an academic license, so cost to me was 0.

If he used different tools, it would have been a great opportunity to mention which tools they were using. :-)

Path to riches: Write chip design or verification software that crashes and has many, many hardcoded special cases.  Sell company to Cadence for $25-50m.  Repeat.
legendary
Activity: 1274
Merit: 1004
September 21, 2012, 04:37:20 PM
#49
Yes
Thanks for clearing that up Inaba.

Maybe he was answering "Yes" to another post.  Ask him what the licensing cost was. ;>

For extra credit, ask how often it crashed or produced incorrect results.
Heh, maybe he used different tools, but I know I've had Cadence/Virtuoso up and decided it wanted to shut down a few times on me, and I haven't used it much. Luckily I was running on an academic license, so cost to me was 0.
donator
Activity: 151
Merit: 100
Assholier-than-thou retard magnet
September 21, 2012, 03:31:25 PM
#48
Yes
Thanks for clearing that up Inaba.

Maybe he was answering "Yes" to another post.  Ask him what the licensing cost was. ;>

For extra credit, ask how often it crashed or produced incorrect results.
legendary
Activity: 1274
Merit: 1004
September 21, 2012, 02:47:03 PM
#47
Yes
Thanks for clearing that up Inaba.
legendary
Activity: 1260
Merit: 1000
September 21, 2012, 02:43:26 PM
#46
Yes
legendary
Activity: 1274
Merit: 1004
September 21, 2012, 02:42:30 PM
#45
If your definition of Full Custom is the same as the industries and not the marketing people, then they are the same.  If you are talking about marketing speak "full custom" then yes, they are different.

So, an Engineer from BFL built or at least tweaked by hand the design in something like Cadence's layout tool, starting from the substrate and working through the n-well, n and p active regions, poly metal, etc?
legendary
Activity: 1260
Merit: 1000
September 21, 2012, 01:38:15 PM
#44
If your definition of Full Custom is the same as the industries and not the marketing people, then they are the same.  If you are talking about marketing speak "full custom" then yes, they are different.

hero member
Activity: 504
Merit: 500
September 21, 2012, 07:35:02 AM
#43

The BFL definition of 'FULL' Custom and the technical term 'FULL Custom' are likely to be slightly differing in their meaning.
full member
Activity: 163
Merit: 100
September 20, 2012, 03:40:11 PM
#41
[recap]

3. Sonny C. Vleisides was convicted for an elaborate scam in 2007.
http://northridge.patch.com/articles/5th-defendant-in-lottery-scam-to-be-sentenced (and numerous other sources)

Legit Level based on current material: meh.

Really? wow. This is bad. I'm rethinking if I should have ordered from btcfpga instead.

Yea, this is making me concerned about the preorders I've made.
hero member
Activity: 686
Merit: 500
Wat
September 20, 2012, 06:47:42 AM
#40
FYI, we're not arguing that they're the same. Some evidence (not convincingly much) indicates that they are related.

The important question is whether the Chris Vleisides who is the president/director of BFL is actually Sonny Chris Vleisides the convicted felon. It's already been confirmed by BFL that Sonny works there, so it seems highly likely that they're one and the same.  There's no reason to believe that Chris the photographer is associated with Sonny or BFL in any way, though



https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=109349.120  its been confirmed.











hero member
Activity: 868
Merit: 1000
September 20, 2012, 06:43:10 AM
#39
FYI, we're not arguing that they're the same. Some evidence (not convincingly much) indicates that they are related.

The important question is whether the Chris Vleisides who is the president/director of BFL is actually Sonny Chris Vleisides the convicted felon. It's already been confirmed by BFL that Sonny works there, so it seems highly likely that they're one and the same.  There's no reason to believe that Chris the photographer is associated with Sonny or BFL in any way, though
sr. member
Activity: 280
Merit: 250
September 20, 2012, 05:25:05 AM
#38
FYI, Chris Vleisides the photographer says on his LinkedIn page that he's been a commercial photographer since the early 1970's - Sonny Vleisides the convicted felon was born in 1971. Unlikely to be the same guy. Unfortunate coincidence.

However, some of the proceeds of the scam were apparently sent to Connie and Gabriel Vleisides of KC, MO on or about 7/26/2003.

There's also a Gregory Vleisides in the KC area who's an attorney and not apparently connected to Sonny's scam.

FYI, we're not arguing that they're the same. Some evidence (not convincingly much) indicates that they are related.
member
Activity: 113
Merit: 10
September 20, 2012, 03:28:00 AM
#37
FYI, Chris Vleisides the photographer says on his LinkedIn page that he's been a commercial photographer since the early 1970's - Sonny Vleisides the convicted felon was born in 1971. Unlikely to be the same guy. Unfortunate coincidence.

However, some of the proceeds of the scam were apparently sent to Connie and Gabriel Vleisides of KC, MO on or about 7/26/2003.

There's also a Gregory Vleisides in the KC area who's an attorney and not apparently connected to Sonny's scam.
donator
Activity: 151
Merit: 100
Assholier-than-thou retard magnet
September 20, 2012, 02:20:12 AM
#36
[recap]

3. Sonny C. Vleisides was convicted for an elaborate scam in 2007.
http://northridge.patch.com/articles/5th-defendant-in-lottery-scam-to-be-sentenced (and numerous other sources)

Legit Level based on current material: meh.

Really? wow. This is bad. I'm rethinking if I should have ordered from btcfpga instead.

Tom insults you less when you ask for a revised shipping date when he's late.  Then he sends it to you and offers you a partial refund, which is an evil ploy to get you to place another order.

Some people pay for rough trade.  It's all up to your preferences.  I am not here to judge.  Just remember your safe word.  FLÜGGÅƎNK∂€ČHIŒβØL∫ÊN.
hero member
Activity: 686
Merit: 500
Wat
September 20, 2012, 02:03:40 AM
#35
This whole thing reminds me of bitdaytrade. Alberto Armandi was involved in a massive scam prior to setting up bitscalper and other businesses and then proceeded to scam massive amonts of bitcoins.

Fuck.
mem
hero member
Activity: 644
Merit: 501
Herp Derp PTY LTD
September 19, 2012, 10:36:22 PM
#34

Legit Level based on current material: meh.

Wait, are you implying that there might be something strange about a company that requires preorders to be paid in full, will not issue any refunds until a mythical shipping date, does not have a real adress, has both company and domain registration done through proxy registrars and has a phone # assigned to a single mobile phone?



LMAO, how dare you !!!!!
Any moment now a shrill Inaba will be screaming at you in an elaborate 2 page long e-tantrum (that has absolutely no content just hot air).

Seriously though, Inaba is an immature unstable ass hat of the same vein as MNW, anyone trusting him deserves to get burnt.
Inaba, BFL, Pirate are ugly ugly stains on the bitcoin community.
sr. member
Activity: 280
Merit: 250
September 19, 2012, 06:23:36 AM
#33
Oh lawdy.
hero member
Activity: 952
Merit: 1009
September 19, 2012, 05:46:55 AM
#32
Yes, if this is true, it would be a bit alarming..

Then I'd better not tell you that the president of BFL is an ex-con convicted for fraud (as outlined and confirmed here -> https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=109349.120
hero member
Activity: 924
Merit: 1000
September 19, 2012, 04:37:56 AM
#31
Yes, if this is true, it would be a bit alarming.. But, there are always 2 sides to every story. I have been in a bad situation before (years ago) and don't be too quick to judge until you hear all the facts.. but I would like to hear all the facts, since that a lot of us have sent them a lot of money....

AR
hero member
Activity: 952
Merit: 1009
September 19, 2012, 04:18:01 AM
#30

Legit Level based on current material: meh.

Wait, are you implying that there might be something strange about a company that requires preorders to be paid in full, will not issue any refunds until a mythical shipping date, does not have a real adress, has both company and domain registration done through proxy registrars and has a phone # assigned to a single mobile phone?



Guess so. Still, the fact that they have delivar'd other products in the past bugs me.

I've seen pictures of that. Wasn't pretty.
sr. member
Activity: 280
Merit: 250
September 19, 2012, 04:11:48 AM
#29

Legit Level based on current material: meh.

Wait, are you implying that there might be something strange about a company that requires preorders to be paid in full, will not issue any refunds until a mythical shipping date, does not have a real adress, has both company and domain registration done through proxy registrars and has a phone # assigned to a single mobile phone?



Guess so. Still, the fact that they have delivar'd other products in the past bugs me.
hero member
Activity: 952
Merit: 1009
September 19, 2012, 04:07:21 AM
#28

Legit Level based on current material: meh.

Wait, are you implying that there might be something strange about a company that requires preorders to be paid in full, will not issue any refunds until a mythical shipping date, does not have a real adress, has both company and domain registration done through proxy registrars and has a phone # assigned to a single mobile phone?

legendary
Activity: 2128
Merit: 1002
September 19, 2012, 04:03:08 AM
#27
[recap]

3. Sonny C. Vleisides was convicted for an elaborate scam in 2007.
http://northridge.patch.com/articles/5th-defendant-in-lottery-scam-to-be-sentenced (and numerous other sources)

Legit Level based on current material: meh.

Really? wow. This is bad. I'm rethinking if I should have ordered from btcfpga instead.
sr. member
Activity: 280
Merit: 250
September 19, 2012, 03:49:08 AM
#26
[recap]

1. Chris Vleisides registers a company called BF Labs Inc. in Wyoming (2011).
https://wyobiz.wy.gov/Business/FilingDetails.aspx?eFNum=149144214231010201167112190255028042109060235081

2. Chris Vleisides is related to Sonny Chris Vleisides (how, exactly?)
http://www.whitepages.com/name/Gabriel-C-Vleisides/Kansas-City-MO/5s3qaqb (not a very good source... needs something more legit)

3. Sonny C. Vleisides was convicted for an elaborate multi-million scam in 2007.
http://northridge.patch.com/articles/5th-defendant-in-lottery-scam-to-be-sentenced (and numerous other sources)

Notes:
- http://www.lookupbook.com/profile/healthcare-biotech/wy/casper/bf-labs-inc
...claims "BF Labs Inc." is in the healthcare industry...
- People on this forum claim they've heard the president of BFL is called Sonny, or there's an employee with that name.
- Both Vleisideses' are linked to Kansas City.
- The official Butterfly Labs was also established in 2011.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/6/prweb9611889.htm

Legit Level based on current material: meh.
hero member
Activity: 840
Merit: 1000
September 19, 2012, 03:33:50 AM
#25
[curiosity] Any intuition for why someone based in Kansas would set up a company in Wyoming?

[edit] Also, this BF Labs dates from in 2011. The domain name was already registered in 2009 (through Domains By Proxy)?
Wyoming is a favorable state towards businesses, like Nevada and Delaware, where many companies are based.
sr. member
Activity: 280
Merit: 250
September 19, 2012, 03:30:24 AM
#24
[curiosity] Any intuition for why someone based in Kansas would set up a company in Wyoming?

[edit] Also, this BF Labs dates from in 2011. The domain name was already registered in 2009 (through Domains By Proxy)?
hero member
Activity: 840
Merit: 1000
September 19, 2012, 03:15:35 AM
#23
I hope BFL clears this up.
hero member
Activity: 826
Merit: 500
Crypto Somnium
September 19, 2012, 02:18:11 AM
#22
So where is the best place to get ASIC RIGs lol
sr. member
Activity: 240
Merit: 250
September 18, 2012, 10:00:57 PM
#21
Yeah, there is definitely a Sonny at Butterfly: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.933753

BFL, the ball is in your court.
sr. member
Activity: 280
Merit: 250
September 18, 2012, 09:34:40 PM
#20
Bump for interest
legendary
Activity: 1274
Merit: 1004
September 18, 2012, 09:27:26 PM
#19
I hope this is just coincidence.
Considering the link to the Wyoming registration that showed Chris Vleisides of Kansas City, MO as the principle of BF Labs was posted by the BFL account, the president of BFL was known to be Sonny, and the Sonny listed in the charges is also from KC, I'd say it's a pretty big coincidence.

Perhaps Inaba can ask his boss tomorrow if he was extradited from Italy and is on probation for mail fraud.
full member
Activity: 246
Merit: 100
September 18, 2012, 09:25:13 PM
#18
i wonder if paypal complaint line is ringing yet? i did read and find out that after 45 days the transaction is considered good and you have no recourse.
hero member
Activity: 868
Merit: 1002
September 18, 2012, 08:32:03 PM
#17
I hope this is just coincidence.
hero member
Activity: 535
Merit: 500
September 18, 2012, 07:52:09 PM
#15
Umm, holy shet. Not saying the dude is up to anything, but if this is "Sonny" from BFL, do you think people would have pre-ordered as much from BFL ?

Yeah they would, we're talking bitcoin mining here..lol

Look I don't know if any of this stuff is for real, just find it interesting.
legendary
Activity: 1400
Merit: 1000
I owe my soul to the Bitcoin code...
September 18, 2012, 06:47:51 PM
#14
Hey just figured I would toss this out but I always thought the present of BFL had the first name of Sonny.  Also in other postings it is mentioned that BFL is a WY company so that is the the right one.  Pretty sure the present is an engineer but who knows in this crazy bitcoin world.

If Sonny owns BFL, that concerns me:


https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/radDocs/PressRoom/nr110114.htm

http://ca.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20100915_0004129.CCA.htm/qx

Wow, that would make me want to keep a low profile. Lips sealed
hero member
Activity: 686
Merit: 500
Wat
September 18, 2012, 06:20:26 PM
#13
You mean to tell me bitcoiners would send thousands of bitcoins to some anonymous identity on the internet ?  oh wait....
sr. member
Activity: 240
Merit: 250
September 18, 2012, 06:06:15 PM
#12
Hey just figured I would toss this out but I always thought the present of BFL had the first name of Sonny.  Also in other postings it is mentioned that BFL is a WY company so that is the the right one.  Pretty sure the present is an engineer but who knows in this crazy bitcoin world.

If Sonny owns BFL, that concerns me:


https://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/radDocs/PressRoom/nr110114.htm

http://ca.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20100915_0004129.CCA.htm/qx
donator
Activity: 1419
Merit: 1015
September 14, 2012, 05:52:14 PM
#9
Hey just figured I would toss this out but I always thought the present of BFL had the first name of Sonny.  Also in other postings it is mentioned that BFL is a WY company so that is the the right one.  Pretty sure the present is an engineer but who knows in this crazy bitcoin world.

He has never offered proof of his name to the forum. In fact, he instructs his staff to not to use their full names.
sr. member
Activity: 386
Merit: 250
September 14, 2012, 05:47:56 PM
#8
Hey just figured I would toss this out but I always thought the present of BFL had the first name of Sonny.  Also in other postings it is mentioned that BFL is a WY company so that is the the right one.  Pretty sure the present is an engineer but who knows in this crazy bitcoin world.
hero member
Activity: 504
Merit: 500
September 14, 2012, 05:30:22 PM
#7

aye, thats Altera's new hardcopy, a HUGEEEE improvemnt over their older one.  And something that was missed when it was pointed out in the BFL thread a few weeks back. Granted the poster, maybe unknowingly, linked to their older process.

This one has what, 12x the gates for the same cost as their old hardcopy did?
legendary
Activity: 2856
Merit: 1520
Bitcoin Legal Tender Countries: 2 of 206
September 14, 2012, 04:50:25 PM
#4
CHRIS VLEISIDES

http://www.linkedin.com/in/vpsphoto

This comes from these incorporation documents which are registered in wyoming.

https://wyobiz.wy.gov/Business/FilingDetails.aspx?eFNum=149144214231010201167112190255028042109060235081

download the pdf which is their filing document under Public notes.

If this is not BFL, then their name has to be a DBA and they have a different corporate name.

Otherwise there are no public incorporation documents which would be pretty weird.

Just interesting is all.

Interesting. I was wondering if they were going to get their annual report in on time so we could see a real name form it. ;p

edit; are we certain that is the correct Vleisides?  His photo studio is at that address.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=2507+JEFFERSON+KANSAS+CITY,+MO+64108&sll=39.081892,-94.592591&hl=en&gl=us&vps=1&ie=UTF8&view=map&cid=13141561324981720236&iwloc=A

interesting!

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=2507+JEFFERSON+KANSAS+CITY,+MO+64108&hl=en&ll=39.081823,-94.592822&spn=0.014041,0.033023&sll=39.081892,-94.592591&gl=us&view=map&cid=13141561324981720236&hq=2507+JEFFERSON+KANSAS+CITY,+MO+64108&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=39.08191,-94.59281&panoid=1reGHDNoXchP-QvCXIXP4A&cbp=12,92.75,,0,-2.75

EDIT: is this ZION aka BF Labs Inc.??
hero member
Activity: 504
Merit: 500
September 14, 2012, 04:40:57 PM
#3
THis info leads me to believe the BF Labs registration we are looking at is not accurate or is not the Bitcoin BFL company.
hero member
Activity: 504
Merit: 500
September 14, 2012, 04:34:32 PM
#2
CHRIS VLEISIDES

http://www.linkedin.com/in/vpsphoto

This comes from these incorporation documents which are registered in wyoming.

https://wyobiz.wy.gov/Business/FilingDetails.aspx?eFNum=149144214231010201167112190255028042109060235081

download the pdf which is their filing document under Public notes.

If this is not BFL, then their name has to be a DBA and they have a different corporate name.

Otherwise there are no public incorporation documents which would be pretty weird.

Just interesting is all.

Interesting. I was wondering if they were going to get their annual report in on time so we could see a real name form it. ;p

edit; are we certain that is the correct Vleisides?  His photo studio is at that address.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=2507+JEFFERSON+KANSAS+CITY,+MO+64108&sll=39.081892,-94.592591&hl=en&gl=us&vps=1&ie=UTF8&view=map&cid=13141561324981720236&iwloc=A
hero member
Activity: 535
Merit: 500
September 14, 2012, 04:28:08 PM
#1
CHRIS VLEISIDES

http://www.linkedin.com/in/vpsphoto

This comes from these incorporation documents which are registered in wyoming.

https://wyobiz.wy.gov/Business/FilingDetails.aspx?eFNum=149144214231010201167112190255028042109060235081

download the pdf which is their filing document under Public notes.

If this is not BFL, then their name has to be a DBA and they have a different corporate name.

Otherwise there are no public incorporation documents which would be pretty weird.

Just interesting is all.
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