The founder of the Artificial Intelligence Company (AI) Game was accused of defrauding investors from his business.
The FBI last week charge Alexander Beckman, the former CEO of the company, with offenses including conspiracy, wire fraud, securities fraud and identity theft. Valerie Lau Beckman was also charged, which is married to the founder and also worked as a lawyer for Gameon.
According to a press release from the American lawyer’s office, Northern District of California, Gameon manufactures AI Chatbot software For customers who include professional sports leagues and high -level retail brands.
The company raised more than $ 60 million to investors between September 2018 and last July, Beckman and Lau would have used $ 4 million in these funds for personal expenses.
“The Bay region houses incredible innovations and hard work entrepreneurs, but innovation cannot develop by fraud. Programs like those that defendants are accused of threatening our financial markets and cheating investors, “said the first assistant American prosecutor Patrick D. Robbins in the press release.
“This indictment should recall that we will investigate and keep responsible fraudsters.”
Prosecutors allege that beckman’s declarations to investors often included nonexistent income, inflated cash flow and false or exaggerated customer relations. He would have used the names of several real people without their consent, including his own financial director, his bank employees and an employee “of a large professional sports league”, added the press release.
For his part, Lau is accused of having provided Beckman with audit reports of a venture capital company where she worked that he used to create false audit reports for Gameon. Prosecutors say that she knowingly shared a false bank account statement showing Gameon with $ 13 million in the bank, when he only had $ 25.93.
Beckman and Lau risk decades in prison if they are convicted.
In other news related to fraud, Pymnts last week explored the use of geolocation technology in the prevention of fraud in an interview with the CEO and co-founder of Radar Nick Patrick.
“Geolocation is at the heart of Modern fraud detection In a number of industries, ”Patrick told Pymnts. “Understanding all kinds of abnormal geolocation data from a particular device or incoherent location data on devices for the same account can help detect fraud and prevent bad players.”
Geolocation has been associated for years with consumer engagement for years, such as push notifications when entering a shopping center or personalized messages during a driving service. But its transformation into Fraud prevention This could be a boon for digital security, according to the report.
“Frauders always go to fraud,” said Patrick. “But with the right tools, companies can keep one step ahead.”
