Phenoms going under (1 Viewer)

[CalBear]

Depends...did the 2 scratchers participate in a contest determined by the results of an independent sport and not by the issuer for 14+ weeks? If not, it's irrelevant to this discussion.

Madoff is also irrelevant to this discussion...despite the belief of some in this thread that phenoms was a Ponzi scheme.

So by your last sentence, my $5 entry fee fantasy football league that I play with my family and friends on yahoo where the toilet bowl loser has to wash the champion's car in a bikini top and Daisy Duke shorts isn't a contest? There's no prize pool but I tell you what, it's a hell of a competition.

The basis of the contest is completely irrelevant. If the scratcher pays $0 if Ryan Fitzpatrick doesn't throw for six TDs on November 30th, and $1M if Ryan Fitzpatrick throws for 6 TDs on November 30th, the guy who has the loser scratcher still got scammed just as badly as the guy who has the winner scratcher if there's no prize money.

There was never a contest. There is no prize money, therefore there are no prizes. Everyone got screwed.

 

[mike11162]

They just told me over and over again, there is nothing they can do (even going as far as saying by paying through my checking via paypal I was basically giving mike my account information and if he wanted he could drain my account, because technically I gave him access).

Are you saying the bank is saying he can go into our checking accounts and drain them any time because we paid him through PayPal? Or did they mean just drain any money left in a PayPal account? Or both?

I was lucky enough to get out after last season, so I didn't get screwed in the current debacle, but now wondering if this is over yet or not. It's like the compromised accounts hacked into at Target and Home Depot, we were told you have to remain vigilant and monitor your bank accounts in case they get compromised months or years down the road.

If Mike already has criminal complaints against him regarding Phenoms, would that qualify for protecting you at least to be reimbursed if he hacks your checking account through PayPal? Or is removing linking your account to PayPal effective protection?

You know, a guy with "Mike" in his name is probably a target in this thread. <_< Paypal has to be initiated by the Paypal account owner, a vendor cannot initiate a charge to your account unless he has your Paypal password. The vendor only knows your email, not your bank or CC info. I'm assuming you didn't give any of those to phenoms.

Good grief, these customer service reps...

I didn't think that could be right, just commenting on what was posted. I also have no respect or trust for PayPal. They threatened me a couple years ago, saying they were going to freeze my account if I was accepting payments to fantasy leagues, yet they were fine with Zangrilli taking payments through them explicitly for fantasy leagues. Sounds like a discrimination issue to me. I try not to use them unless I really have to.

He also said Bank of America was involved. They are crooks, too. I made a payment by check to the hospital for a bill a few months back; they put it through twice. Went down to my local branch, had all the proof with statements and cancelled checks, because the second payment wasn't reflected on my statement, and they told me they couldn't credit it back, that I had to go to the hospital to get it reimbursed. That was bull, too, they could and should have reversed it right there because the second payment was electronically and I didn't use a debit card, I paid with a check. Some other BS about it going in a second time through the hospital's deposit. I got it corrected with the hospital, but point is they can be trusted to let shady things happen, too, because they're too lazy to do the right thing and fix an obvious mistake.

Oh, and LOL, I'm not THAT Mike! I live in Florida and have never even been to Utah. Been around here a while but I don't post much, more of a lurker reading threads.

 

[TheWalk84]

They just told me over and over again, there is nothing they can do (even going as far as saying by paying through my checking via paypal I was basically giving mike my account information and if he wanted he could drain my account, because technically I gave him access).

Are you saying the bank is saying he can go into our checking accounts and drain them any time because we paid him through PayPal? Or did they mean just drain any money left in a PayPal account? Or both?

I was lucky enough to get out after last season, so I didn't get screwed in the current debacle, but now wondering if this is over yet or not. It's like the compromised accounts hacked into at Target and Home Depot, we were told you have to remain vigilant and monitor your bank accounts in case they get compromised months or years down the road.

If Mike already has criminal complaints against him regarding Phenoms, would that qualify for protecting you at least to be reimbursed if he hacks your checking account through PayPal? Or is removing linking your account to PayPal effective protection?

He cant drain your account, you authorized one transaction with Phenoms. There is no billing agreement/authorizations open with PayPal. He cannot press a magic button and drain your account. Seriously, wtf do they train these csr reps for.

yeah, either that post was BS or he talked to a moron.

People you send money to in Paypal have zero information about your banking information. They don't even know what bank you use.

The guy who posted that is the one trying to get a class action lawsuit going, he is probably trying to discourage people from charging back by posting BS to scare them.

hahaha, I am going to go out on a limb and assume you are just trying to rile people up again.. I am all for everyone charging back as much as they can, I am trying like hell to do the SAME THING

As I have stated in the Class thread, I am well aware we will never see a dime from mike, I just hope he is brought to justice and by bringing a lawsuit, it might help the criminal case..

And also, I do know the CS rep was full of it, I was simply pointing out how awful they were, and throwing around all these completely wrong statements..

BOA and Paypal have been ridiculously unhelpful, but as I stated previous, I am so happy SOME people are finding success, it sounds like if you paid with AMEX you are golden, that is a bright spot in a dark situation at the very least..

Kepp the success stories coming brothers! One battle at a time!

 

[Yamato]

I'd like to hear from anyone who has had success with a charge back. List your payment method/ bank and what kind of resolution you got.

 

[twistedwit]

I'm sorry people lost money or won't get the money they deserve. But PLEASE learn a lesson from this. Stop throwing big money into high-stakes contests unless you're prepared to not get paid. If you have a lot of money and it's not a big deal, cool. But if the dollar amount matters, stop throwing it away on the Internet.

No matter how much you researched it or trusted it, there's no due diligence you can do to guarantee a big payout from people you don't know. No league, no daily game, no nothing. And from the way these threads always go, there's basically nothing you can do about it.

I know these seem like good guys at the time and you pay with the best knowledge you have at the time. But my point is you'll NEVER have enough knowledge to protect yourself from this. This is always a possibility. If that's part of your gambling fun, great. But if this is a big problem, please don't make the same mistake twice. You're not getting your money back.

 

[fatness]

Did anyone else just start getting spam at the email address they used on their Phenoms account?

 

[Raiderfan32904]

Did anyone else just start getting spam at the email address they used on their Phenoms account?

Not spam perse, but I did not like that my email got added to a long Phenoms email list without my consent. Somebody who is in one of my leagues copy/pasted our league info and passed it on to somebody who has started some sort of legal campaign. I didn't respond to it, but it's a little unnerving to see how easily your personal info can be harvested from what I thought was a relatively secure account profile.

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

No spam here. I'm sure most already do, but I use an email specifically just for my fantasy leagues.

 

[jon_mx]

Did anyone else just start getting spam at the email address they used on their Phenoms account?

Not spam perse, but I did not like that my email got added to a long Phenoms email list without my consent. Somebody who is in one of my leagues copy/pasted our league info and passed it on to somebody who has started some sort of legal campaign. I didn't respond to it, but it's a little unnerving to see how easily your personal info can be harvested from what I thought was a relatively secure account profile.

Sounds like your grievance is directed at the wrong place.

 

[weinster666]

I'm sorry people lost money or won't get the money they deserve. But PLEASE learn a lesson from this. Stop throwing big money into high-stakes contests unless you're prepared to not get paid. If you have a lot of money and it's not a big deal, cool. But if the dollar amount matters, stop throwing it away on the Internet.

No matter how much you researched it or trusted it, there's no due diligence you can do to guarantee a big payout from people you don't know. No league, no daily game, no nothing. And from the way these threads always go, there's basically nothing you can do about it.

I know these seem like good guys at the time and you pay with the best knowledge you have at the time. But my point is you'll NEVER have enough knowledge to protect yourself from this. This is always a possibility. If that's part of your gambling fun, great. But if this is a big problem, please don't make the same mistake twice. You're not getting your money back.

That is why they have fraud laws and better business bureaus and the like. You cant go through life with the attitude that any product or service you buy, either from a mom-and-pop or giant chain, either in person or over the internet, might rip you off and you should just accept those consequences. Commerce requires some expectation of trust and legal protections against violations of that trust. If you purchase a service, there has to be some expectation that the service that is delivered IS the service they represented. Just like, on the other side of the coin, that the expectation is that you purchase the product and service with real legal tender currency and not monopoly money.

I'm not sure what you can learn from this. That you should make all products yourself by hand, since you cant trust anyone? And learn all trades so you can do everything yourself?

W

 

[Stomp24]

What disappoints me is people who are using the situation to try and recoup funds that they would have lost anyway, laughing and bragging about it, and rationalizing it with absurd examples. Ethically, if you played the league for 14 weeks and finished out of the money in your league, there's really no reasonable rationale to expect to be reimbursed for your losses.

At some point in this whole thread somebody started telling guys they should do a chargeback with their bank or CC company about getting refunds. At that point, I questioned whether it was appropriate or ethical for people who did not qualify to win their leagues to be requesting refund for money that they would have lost anyway, and not send it to the league winners.

There's no ethical issue with getting the money back.

If you keep the money instead of giving it to the league's winner then you have an ethical issue.

Bingo. You get it.

OK, should the guy who bought a loser scratcher give his $1 to the guy who bought the "winner" scratcher? Should the last guy in Madoff's scheme give his settlement to the first guy?

If there's no prize pool, there's no contest, and everyone was defrauded.

Depends...did the 2 scratchers participate in a contest determined by the results of an independent sport and not by the issuer for 14+ weeks? If not, it's irrelevant to this discussion.

Madoff is also irrelevant to this discussion...despite the belief of some in this thread that phenoms was a Ponzi scheme.

So by your last sentence, my $5 entry fee fantasy football league that I play with my family and friends on yahoo where the toilet bowl loser has to wash the champion's car in a bikini top and Daisy Duke shorts isn't a contest? There's no prize pool but I tell you what, it's a hell of a competition.

 

[Tony_Tom]

I was pretty pissed that this guys stole my cash until a guy in my league sent me this link. If I lived in this ####hole i guess i would be looking to steal cash too.

http://assessor.slco.org/cfml/Query/valuationInfo.cfm?Parcel_id=22182040110000&nbhd=661&PA=

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

I know this is minuscule in the grand scheme, but if I filed a claim with paypal would it matter that I used a PayPal balance rather than paying directly from my credit card? And in case you didn't see, this made usa today. http://thebiglead.com/2014/12/17/phenoms-fantasy-football-site-unable-to-meet-full-prize-obligations-plans-to-declare-bankruptcy/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycomsports-topstories

Yeah not surprising this is getting some pub elsewhere considering 9-10k views of thread/day.

We're not getting our money. I/We just want to know the truth. Obviously there's a lot more to the 'software story'. Wasn't something that popped up overnight (and his words confirm that by 'looking for buyers' last few months). That the guy was still joining/doing daily sports gambling irks me more as much as anything.

 

[Steve Tasker]

Wasn't something that popped up overnight (and his words confirm that by 'looking for buyers' last few months).

The whole buyer or investor thing is the most laughable part of it all, to me. Who's going to buy this business? Who's going to put in several hundred thousand dollars of capital that is just going to be turned around and paid out to fantasy football players? But if you buy the business and DON'T pay out the players....you've got no ####### business because none of your customers are going to come back. And on top of that, you're possibly inheriting a legal battle over an unfinished piece of software. I don't doubt that maybe another player in the industry might want to buy this business if everything was on the up-and-up....but who in their right mind would want to buy this one right now? It's not worth a dime.

 

[Dizzy]

Did anyone else just start getting spam at the email address they used on their Phenoms account?

Not spam perse, but I did not like that my email got added to a long Phenoms email list without my consent. Somebody who is in one of my leagues copy/pasted our league info and passed it on to somebody who has started some sort of legal campaign. I didn't respond to it, but it's a little unnerving to see how easily your personal info can be harvested from what I thought was a relatively secure account profile.

Maybe it was the IRS... "Hey, forget about this Phenoms guy... are all these others guys claiming their winnings as earned income? Can you forward their info to me please?"

 

[Jerry Curl]

If things are this crazy, how could no one see this coming? I understand some being upset and wanting to track this guy down, but shocked?

 

[ImTheScientist]

See my earlier post--we should all be calling the police/authorities. The sooner and the more people that do that, the sooner we get Mike locked up and possibly get some cash back.

You probably won't get cash back but you can be satisfied knowing he will be locked up for 20 years.

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

If things are this crazy, how could no one see this coming? I understand some being upset and wanting to track this guy down, but shocked?

Only way to put it is shocked. The guy was one of the (if not the) most respected individuals to run fantasy football leagues on this site with a solid 10+ year reputation. I don't think you'd find anyone with a bad word to say about him. Always paid out,etc.... Shocked to the point, if you can't trust him, what individual can you trust on this board? This very site had some level of trust in him -- making staff member & even asking if he'd run some leagues for them (even if they didn't come to fruition). He had a solid enough rep IMO to lower payout % and/or move some leagues (to save on costs) to free websites -- if he was wanting to make a bit more himself. Really don't think many would blink an eye at that IMO

I give long time members some benefit of a doubt, but the software story just doesn't add up. (And that doesn't really excuse him for paying for 'added software costs' ......even if his story is 100% truth). I think there's too much smoke with the gambling here to ignore.

This incident will have a big impact on these boards (leagues posted, etc...) especially.

 

[Mikeisonabeachearning20%]

Anyone who is attempting a CC chargeback, how are you getting around the 90 day window?

My CC (mastercard) didn't blink about a 90 day window. FYI to anyone attempting a CC chargeback, don't attempt to try to explain what happened or any fantasy football league mumbo jumbo to them. They don't speak this language. All they want to know is that you paid for a product you didn't receive. They hit the appropriate button and tell you the case will be resolved one way or the other within 60 days.

I started the chargeback process, however my situation was a little more complicated. They did ask questions of the nature of the services provided and the who, what, when and how of it all.

To be honest, It felt a bit like an interrogation to get me to admit it was fantasy football related. I basically told them that this company was to provide "a sports entertainment service in which they coordinate, supervise and manage the funds of our group". He asked what was the reasoning for the transactions to be disputed now after the 118 day period had elapsed and I said because the service was an ongoing process that needed to be completed in it's entirety for the transactions to be valid in the first place.

There was a lot more to the conversation but I'll spare you the details. I feel like I need a shower though. They said to gather up emails and as much evidence as I could and they would send the paperwork to initiate the investigation.

This isn't going to end well but it doesn't require much effort on my end so I feel it's worth trying.

Of course you need a shower. You couldn't even admit the reason you were begging for your money back. If you are that ashamed to say it was FF, then you probably shouldn't be calling.

 

[Yamato]

Did anyone else just start getting spam at the email address they used on their Phenoms account?

Not spam perse, but I did not like that my email got added to a long Phenoms email list without my consent. Somebody who is in one of my leagues copy/pasted our league info and passed it on to somebody who has started some sort of legal campaign. I didn't respond to it, but it's a little unnerving to see how easily your personal info can be harvested from what I thought was a relatively secure account profile.

Maybe it was the IRS... "Hey, forget about this Phenoms guy... are all these others guys claiming their winnings as earned income? Can you forward their info to me please?"

Would be a nice kick in the teeth if we get tax forms in the mail for money we didn't win...

 

[Yamato]

See my earlier post--we should all be calling the police/authorities. The sooner and the more people that do that, the sooner we get Mike locked up and possibly get some cash back.

You probably won't get cash back but you can be satisfied knowing he will be locked up for 20 years.

Would rather have my winnings than send a guy to jail...

 

[cstu]

I know this is minuscule in the grand scheme, but if I filed a claim with paypal would it matter that I used a PayPal balance rather than paying directly from my credit card? And in case you didn't see, this made usa today. http://thebiglead.com/2014/12/17/phenoms-fantasy-football-site-unable-to-meet-full-prize-obligations-plans-to-declare-bankruptcy/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycomsports-topstories

Weird to see a link to this thread on USA Today.

 

[Keith Lewis]

See my earlier post--we should all be calling the police/authorities. The sooner and the more people that do that, the sooner we get Mike locked up and possibly get some cash back.

You probably won't get cash back but you can be satisfied knowing he will be locked up for 20 years.

Would rather have my winnings than send a guy to jail...

Same here Yamato. I am in beta71 with you, didn't do well there. I am in the finals of another $100 and $500 league. Put in $1000. If I lose my games this week I am at $1450 for 2nd in the 500 and whatever it is for 2nd in 100. If I win I'll be out over $3000.

I want my money too. Don't really care about justice at this point, I'm not rich, the $1000 is a lot to me, most I ever put in.

 

[Dizzy]

Did anyone else just start getting spam at the email address they used on their Phenoms account?

Not spam perse, but I did not like that my email got added to a long Phenoms email list without my consent. Somebody who is in one of my leagues copy/pasted our league info and passed it on to somebody who has started some sort of legal campaign. I didn't respond to it, but it's a little unnerving to see how easily your personal info can be harvested from what I thought was a relatively secure account profile.

Maybe it was the IRS... "Hey, forget about this Phenoms guy... are all these others guys claiming their winnings as earned income? Can you forward their info to me please?"

Would be a nice kick in the teeth if we get tax forms in the mail for money we didn't win...

I was thinking more along the lines of the past 10-years worth of large payouts... all neatly documented.

 

[Raiderfan32904]

Did anyone else just start getting spam at the email address they used on their Phenoms account?

Not spam perse, but I did not like that my email got added to a long Phenoms email list without my consent. Somebody who is in one of my leagues copy/pasted our league info and passed it on to somebody who has started some sort of legal campaign. I didn't respond to it, but it's a little unnerving to see how easily your personal info can be harvested from what I thought was a relatively secure account profile.

Maybe it was the IRS... "Hey, forget about this Phenoms guy... are all these others guys claiming their winnings as earned income? Can you forward their info to me please?"

Would be a nice kick in the teeth if we get tax forms in the mail for money we didn't win...

I was thinking more along the lines of the past 10-years worth of large payouts... all neatly documented.

FWIW, I keep at least 7 years of tax records and always file my winnings (over $600 per year) to the IRS. Nothing to fear.

 

[Yamato]

See my earlier post--we should all be calling the police/authorities. The sooner and the more people that do that, the sooner we get Mike locked up and possibly get some cash back.

You probably won't get cash back but you can be satisfied knowing he will be locked up for 20 years.

Would rather have my winnings than send a guy to jail...

Same here Yamato. I am in beta71 with you, didn't do well there. I am in the finals of another $100 and $500 league. Put in $1000. If I lose my games this week I am at $1450 for 2nd in the 500 and whatever it is for 2nd in 100. If I win I'll be out over $3000.

I want my money too. Don't really care about justice at this point, I'm not rich, the $1000 is a lot to me, most I ever put in.

Same here. Looks we we are both going to win...or should I say lose...about the same amount. I'm still going to enter online leagues next year. Probably join multiple site. Anyone know of other "trusted" sites? I don't play dailies but might start if they are more secure.

 

[Yamato]

Did anyone else just start getting spam at the email address they used on their Phenoms account?

Not spam perse, but I did not like that my email got added to a long Phenoms email list without my consent. Somebody who is in one of my leagues copy/pasted our league info and passed it on to somebody who has started some sort of legal campaign. I didn't respond to it, but it's a little unnerving to see how easily your personal info can be harvested from what I thought was a relatively secure account profile.

Maybe it was the IRS... "Hey, forget about this Phenoms guy... are all these others guys claiming their winnings as earned income? Can you forward their info to me please?"

Would be a nice kick in the teeth if we get tax forms in the mail for money we didn't win...

I was thinking more along the lines of the past 10-years worth of large payouts... all neatly documented.

FWIW, I keep at least 7 years of tax records and always file my winnings (over $600 per year) to the IRS. Nothing to fear.

When you file do you deduct the amount you put in?

 

[Raiderfan32904]

Did anyone else just start getting spam at the email address they used on their Phenoms account?

Not spam perse, but I did not like that my email got added to a long Phenoms email list without my consent. Somebody who is in one of my leagues copy/pasted our league info and passed it on to somebody who has started some sort of legal campaign. I didn't respond to it, but it's a little unnerving to see how easily your personal info can be harvested from what I thought was a relatively secure account profile.

Maybe it was the IRS... "Hey, forget about this Phenoms guy... are all these others guys claiming their winnings as earned income? Can you forward their info to me please?"

Would be a nice kick in the teeth if we get tax forms in the mail for money we didn't win...

I was thinking more along the lines of the past 10-years worth of large payouts... all neatly documented.

FWIW, I keep at least 7 years of tax records and always file my winnings (over $600 per year) to the IRS. Nothing to fear.

When you file do you deduct the amount you put in?

Of course. That is the defintion of "winnings" right?

 

[TheWalk84]

See my earlier post--we should all be calling the police/authorities. The sooner and the more people that do that, the sooner we get Mike locked up and possibly get some cash back.

You probably won't get cash back but you can be satisfied knowing he will be locked up for 20 years.

Would rather have my winnings than send a guy to jail...

True but because reality is you will more than likely not get your money back.. So in that case would you rather see him in jail or out of jail on a technicality?

 

[Raiderfan32904]

Incredible that even after this internet fleece job, some folks are still begging to get back to their fantasy football fix and so soon. I would think this experience would put a sour taste in most peoples mouth to ever trust another site again. I guess I was wrong. As long as there are people willing to take the risk, there will be unscrupulous types like Mike ready to take their money. Good luck with that addiction, you need to get some help.

 

[Keith Lewis]

Incredible that even after this internet fleece job, some folks are still begging to get back to their fantasy football fix and so soon. I would think this experience would put a sour taste in most peoples mouth to ever trust another site again. I guess I was wrong. As long as there are people willing to take the risk, there will be unscrupulous types like Mike ready to take their money. Good luck with that addiction, you need to get some help.

Won 700 two years agoWon 800 last year

Lose 1000 this year because of phenoms. Should have won between 800-2000 this depending on this week 16.

Played for years for free leagues. So I'm up 500.

With that said, this experience destroyed my love for the hobby. I don't think I'll ever play again. Maybe come next August I'll get over it.

Been playing since Peyton Mannings rookie year/Kurt Warner became a star, Terrell Davis and Fred Taylor were the top two picks.

Phenoms robbing me has ruined it all.

 

[Raiderfan32904]

Seems like Phenoms really exploded in the last couple of years in terms of the number of leagues they were running. It looks like they had approx 750 football leagues going this year. Was Mike commissioning all of these leagues by himself or did he have employees?

To my knowledge he operated this all by himself.

 

[Yamato]

Incredible that even after this internet fleece job, some folks are still begging to get back to their fantasy football fix and so soon. I would think this experience would put a sour taste in most peoples mouth to ever trust another site again. I guess I was wrong. As long as there are people willing to take the risk, there will be unscrupulous types like Mike ready to take their money. Good luck with that addiction, you need to get some help.

Unless you want to play for no money you will always have to trust someone to play this game.

 

[TheWalk84]

Incredible that even after this internet fleece job, some folks are still begging to get back to their fantasy football fix and so soon. I would think this experience would put a sour taste in most peoples mouth to ever trust another site again. I guess I was wrong. As long as there are people willing to take the risk, there will be unscrupulous types like Mike ready to take their money. Good luck with that addiction, you need to get some help.

I wouldn't say it like that man… I enjoy fantasy football and playoff fantasy football like a lot. It is a lynch pen for bonding for me and a lot of my friends and family, as well as a camaraderie with guys that I do not know personally but have played in leagues with for years...

Mike stole the money, but letting him steal our tradition is more wrong than that… I personally (for my friends and family) will look for another service who holds their funds in escrow or we ship it to leaguesafe (I know many of you are saying they could do the same thing), but in the end, I trusted mike with my leagues, I won't let mike beat us twice by making us quit fantasy football..

It is not that "we need help" it just means the world to my family and friends..

 

[hamhocs]

Did anyone else just start getting spam at the email address they used on their Phenoms account?

Not spam perse, but I did not like that my email got added to a long Phenoms email list without my consent. Somebody who is in one of my leagues copy/pasted our league info and passed it on to somebody who has started some sort of legal campaign. I didn't respond to it, but it's a little unnerving to see how easily your personal info can be harvested from what I thought was a relatively secure account profile.

Maybe it was the IRS... "Hey, forget about this Phenoms guy... are all these others guys claiming their winnings as earned income? Can you forward their info to me please?"

Would be a nice kick in the teeth if we get tax forms in the mail for money we didn't win...

I was thinking more along the lines of the past 10-years worth of large payouts... all neatly documented.

FWIW, I keep at least 7 years of tax records and always file my winnings (over $600 per year) to the IRS. Nothing to fear.

When you file do you deduct the amount you put in?

Of course. That is the defintion of "winnings" right?

Actually you're supposed to claim winnings no matter how much they are. The $600 threshold is only for the provider being required to report the amount to the IRS.

 

[zoonation]

Haven't read the whole thread. Has anyone taken the lead on suing this loser personally? Clearly fraud going on here in which case (if the law is the same in the US as it is in Canada) the veil should be easily pierced.

He may have littel assets to satisfy any judgment, but I'd do it as a matter of principle.

 

[Yamato]

Incredible that even after this internet fleece job, some folks are still begging to get back to their fantasy football fix and so soon. I would think this experience would put a sour taste in most peoples mouth to ever trust another site again. I guess I was wrong. As long as there are people willing to take the risk, there will be unscrupulous types like Mike ready to take their money. Good luck with that addiction, you need to get some help.

Raiderfan...####. Stop talking about things you don't know anything about. Addiction? Do I know you?

 

[Mikeisonabeachearning20%]

Seems like Phenoms really exploded in the last couple of years in terms of the number of leagues they were running. It looks like they had approx 750 football leagues going this year. Was Mike commissioning all of these leagues by himself or did he have employees?

Exactly why this was a good year to end the Ponzi scheme. He built it up to where he had lots of sheep on the farm. He had been shearing them for years. Now came time for the slaughter.

 

[George Jefferson Airplane]

Seems like Phenoms really exploded in the last couple of years in terms of the number of leagues they were running. It looks like they had approx 750 football leagues going this year. Was Mike commissioning all of these leagues by himself or did he have employees?

Exactly why this was a good year to end the Ponzi scheme. He built it up to where he had lots of sheep on the farm. He had been shearing them for years. Now came time for the slaughter.

 

[mrfrood]

I wonder if Mike and Steve from Antsports are buddies.

 

[Yamato]

I wonder if Mike and Steve from Antsports are buddies.

That might have been the catalyst that started all this. He might not have known Steve but I wonder if he realized what he could do.

 

[RUSF18]

Outside of the email he sent yesterday or the day before (***OFFICIAL NOTICE*** coming from his own account), is there any confirmation that he has actually declared bankruptcy and has a lawyer?

I don't think so. And that's why people should keep filing chargebacks and keep filing complaints with the authorities that have been linked here.

I'm just one guy who didn't know anything about Phenoms at all before this thread, but I think he's ####### with all of you. That email I referenced earlier cemented it for me. A real notice would have come from a lawyer and from a law firm email account, or at an absolute minimum, would have provided information for who you could contact.

Someone else said this and I think they are right...the timing of this seems very calculated. If he waited until after the season, there's a bunch of people who are verified winners who have supportable claims on large sums of money. By doing it now, he's knocked out all those people who are disqualified and the true winners are unknown and speculative, in most cases.

This all sucks and I'm sorry for all of you. I just don't think anyone should give up because you think bankruptcy lawyers are going to chew through any potential funds that could be given back.

 

[Flea Flickin']

Well played Mr. Zangrilli, well played. Drop the news on playoff weekend, stating only a portion of the funds may still be available. That delayed some players from filing complaints and allowed him to delete items from the phenoms site and clean up his social accounts and then file for bankruptcy. Karma is a #####, so his life is due for some radical changes. Watch out for those speeding buses Mike.

My first year on the online fantasy sites and my last. Did fairly decent in some of my leagues, thought the prize for pts leader was key. Damn Crook

 

[Flea Flickin']

Outside of the email he sent yesterday or the day before (***OFFICIAL NOTICE*** coming from his own account), is there any confirmation that he has actually declared bankruptcy and has a lawyer?

I don't think so. And that's why people should keep filing chargebacks and keep filing complaints with the authorities that have been linked here.

I'm just one guy who didn't know anything about Phenoms at all before this thread, but I think he's ####### with all of you. That email I referenced earlier cemented it for me. A real notice would have come from a lawyer and from a law firm email account, or at an absolute minimum, would have provided information for who you could contact.

Someone else said this and I think they are right...the timing of this seems very calculated. If he waited until after the season, there's a bunch of people who are verified winners who have supportable claims on large sums of money. By doing it now, he's knocked out all those people who are disqualified and the true winners are unknown and speculative, in most cases.

This all sucks and I'm sorry for all of you. I just don't think anyone should give up because you think bankruptcy lawyers are going to chew through any potential funds that could be given back.

Very true, he sent a notice that all emails needed to be forwarded or sent to phenomslegal@gmail.com. My first thought was the lawyers are using a gmail account. This effen guy

 

[cstu]

Anyone still buying the cost overrun story?

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Incredible that even after this internet fleece job, some folks are still begging to get back to their fantasy football fix and so soon. I would think this experience would put a sour taste in most peoples mouth to ever trust another site again. I guess I was wrong. As long as there are people willing to take the risk, there will be unscrupulous types like Mike ready to take their money. Good luck with that addiction, you need to get some help.

I wouldn't say it like that man… I enjoy fantasy football and playoff fantasy football like a lot. It is a lynch pen for bonding for me and a lot of my friends and family, as well as a camaraderie with guys that I do not know personally but have played in leagues with for years...

Mike stole the money, but letting him steal our tradition is more wrong than that… I personally (for my friends and family) will look for another service who holds their funds in escrow or we ship it to leaguesafe (I know many of you are saying they could do the same thing), but in the end, I trusted mike with my leagues, I won't let mike beat us twice by making us quit fantasy football..

It is not that "we need help" it just means the world to my family and friends..

If you have a friends and family league why do you need any type of commissioner or escrow service at all - couldn't one of you just take care of those jobs?

 

[jon_mx]

Anyone still buying the cost overrun story?

Hookers and coke are expensive.

 

[CalBear]

Anyone still buying the cost overrun story?

Even if the cost overrun story is accurate, he's operating a fraudulent operation. You can't dip into the prize pool to cover operational expenses; if you don't have $650K outside the prize pool, you can't do a $650K project unless you can get it financed. Even if the new site was completed and beautiful, it wouldn't have generated $450K by the end of this season to put back in the prize pool. And you can't borrow from next year's registrations to pay for it, either, even if you get enough; that just kicks the can down the road.

The guy screwed up royally, and the only question is whether he did so through intent or incompetence.

 

[Dizzy]

Anyone still buying the cost overrun story?

Not for a minute. If true, then he got taken worse than any of these other guys.

"Yeah, just a few more glitches to work out with waiver sorting. Wire us another $200k and that should take care of it."

 

[Scoresman]

I'm in the wrong business if I could be making 600K+ developing a fantasy football website.