What started out as a great idea for an intriguing motorcycle helmet generated $13.5 million in investment capital two years ago, but the project has ended in failure. According to recent news, the vast amount of money that was brought in to finance the creation of the helmet really went to pay for trips to exotic destinations, luxury cars and personal expenses that included limos, strip clubs and rent.
The Indiegogo Skully motorcycle helmet crowdfunding campaign, which got a lot of press on the website and generated a lot of investment capital, was supposed to finance the creation of a futuristic helmet with a heads up display and augmented reality, but that’s not where the money went.
Ultimately, the two brothers who started the company were forced into bankruptcy, but they did not mention any of the above wrongdoing in their Chapter 7 filings. Instead, that information had to wait before it was revealed by an ex-assistant who filed a lawsuit against the company, and in that lawsuit, she exposes a host of facts about what happened at the company.
The ex-assistant’s lawsuit cited failure to pay overtime and wrongful termination, in addition to other allegations. She might have as well head to The Keating Firm site or other online sources for acquiring the knowledge that would be required to help her with the lawsuit, as the proceeding of the lawsuit may be new to her. She also showed that the two brothers used the investment money they received from Indiegogo to pay for new apartments, cleaning services, groceries, restaurant meals, and personal technological items. In addition, the brothers apparently bought two Dodge Vipers, an Audi R8, four motorcycles, and trips to Las Vegas exceeding $13,000. The assistant further said that she was made to engage in fraudulent bookkeeping to defraud investors into thinking that they were using company funds to finance their business pursuits.
It is difficult to say how this ex-employee’s lawsuit will end. However, it appears that the facts and figures regarding Skully’s dishonesty could help endear the courts to the woman’s position in this matter.
Source: costaleslaw.com, “This multi-million dollar crowdfunding fail sounds like the plot for a bad movie,” Chris Smith, Aug. 11, 2016
