Drunken Benson
Footballguy
Sort of takes the thrill out of being in the semis. And, playing for profit in general. I can overcome the 10% vig, but not this sort of thing.
Fantasy Football - Footballguys Forums
Welcome to Our Forums. Once you've registered and logged in, you're primed to talk football, among other topics, with the sharpest and most experienced fantasy players on the internet.
Phenoms going under (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter JohnW1970
- Start date
Raiderfan32904
Footballguy
Brutal. Like the grinch who stole Christmas. Made the playoffs in all 4 Phenoms leagues this year, was checking MyFBG page making last minute adjustments for my first round playoff matchups, and then I get Mike'a email.
"I can only ask for your forgiveness" - Mike
You gotta be ####### ####ting me! Ponzi scheme con artist.
"I can only ask for your forgiveness" - Mike
You gotta be ####### ####ting me! Ponzi scheme con artist.
Soaring Eagle
Footballguy
in 3 leagues
1st seed in all and winning total points in all
I am still in shock and speechless
no wonder everyone just wants to play daily leagues
I don't know what is worse, losing the money or all the time I spent on the league
1st seed in all and winning total points in all
I am still in shock and speechless
no wonder everyone just wants to play daily leagues
I don't know what is worse, losing the money or all the time I spent on the league
Keith Lewis
Footballguy
Same here. In semis in a $500 entry.
Raiderfan32904
Footballguy
I won't miss the money, as much as the hours dedicated to building a roster. At times juggling my schedule around FCFS waivers. Fretting about trades, managing my FAAB dollars. Fantasy football was kind of an almost unhealthy addiction. My one vice I allowed myself. In a heartbeat, it's all gone. My teams are dead. This never happened. My draft prep never happened either. My time on the clock worrying about my next pick, draft strategies, waiver wire adds, streaming defenses. All of this was a waking dream, never happened. Oh well, in the grand scheme of things, I got a lot to be thankful for than a few hundred bucks. Maybe I'll just give up on this hobby altogether.
Drunken Benson
Footballguy
Right. We'll all get by without a few hundred bucks, or we wouldn't have wagered it. But it kills the joy of the hobby. How much will you trust your next league?
Drunken Benson
Footballguy
Right. Can you imagine building a team for years...then...poof! Dynasty football is dead to me now.
Last edited by a moderator:
msudaisy26
Footballguy
I am not in any of these leagues, but I feel very bad for everyone that is. I hope this doesn't keep you from finding and joining leagues in the future. I wish the best to you all.
Phenomsff was an excellent place to play. Lot's of positive feedback is available out there on the site. Up until this point, there were no red flags not to use them.
Drunken Benson
Footballguy
Exactly. That's part of what if freaking me out. I played there for five years, dozens of teams. Excellent and prompt service and payouts, always.
Last edited by a moderator:
karmarooster
Footballguy
IMO, dynasty leagues should be refunded for deposits as well as this year's entry fees. I have 6 dynasty teams, and they were split pretty much evenly between "win now" where I'm in the semis this week, and "win next year" leagues where I loaded up on draft picks and future-studs like Christine Michael, Carlos Hyde, Josh Gordon, etc.
The fairest thing to do, IMO, would be to give everyone a haircut and refund $75-80 for every $100 on this year's entry, plus $100 (full refund) on the deposit for next year. Forget about $ for 1st in points, 1st-2nd-3rd playoff finals. People played with different strategies, and to 'unwind' in this way would be equitable as compared to get 20-40% of the "winnings" for teams that do actually hit this year's prizes.
For redrafts, obviously the fairest thing to do is to pay out what's available in prizes. But dynasty/keeper leagues are a bit of a different animal.
Here's what doesn't make sense - if you sign a contract with a web development company, for a $200k website, typically you would pay some up front and then other amounts upon certain completion milestones, e.g. delivery of the alpha, the beta, and final build. Obviously you don't pay all up front. If it goes over-budget (which is quite common), they have to come back to you and ask for another $100k, and another $100k, and we're sorry about the delay but another $100k.
At some point, you could call it off and sue them for breach of contract. they promised you a website for $200k or $300 or what have you. but they don't take $600k and not provide you a working website. And if they do, you sue them for breach and get back your money. This just doesn't make sense.
It also doesn't make sense that this would be a 'long con' as Mike has been generally very responsive and fair and involved in managing all the leagues. A great commissioner. But if he was going to take our money and run, he would be long gone by now and there wouldn't be an email like this. Payouts just wouldn't come, and he'd be out of the country by then and never to be found.
Personally I had 2 x $200 redraft leagues in the semis, $300 of dynasty leagues in the semis, and another $300 of dynasty leagues with top 3 picks... was counting down to Cooper-Gordon-Gurley next year.
I just don't get this whole thing.
The fairest thing to do, IMO, would be to give everyone a haircut and refund $75-80 for every $100 on this year's entry, plus $100 (full refund) on the deposit for next year. Forget about $ for 1st in points, 1st-2nd-3rd playoff finals. People played with different strategies, and to 'unwind' in this way would be equitable as compared to get 20-40% of the "winnings" for teams that do actually hit this year's prizes.
For redrafts, obviously the fairest thing to do is to pay out what's available in prizes. But dynasty/keeper leagues are a bit of a different animal.
Here's what doesn't make sense - if you sign a contract with a web development company, for a $200k website, typically you would pay some up front and then other amounts upon certain completion milestones, e.g. delivery of the alpha, the beta, and final build. Obviously you don't pay all up front. If it goes over-budget (which is quite common), they have to come back to you and ask for another $100k, and another $100k, and we're sorry about the delay but another $100k.
At some point, you could call it off and sue them for breach of contract. they promised you a website for $200k or $300 or what have you. but they don't take $600k and not provide you a working website. And if they do, you sue them for breach and get back your money. This just doesn't make sense.
It also doesn't make sense that this would be a 'long con' as Mike has been generally very responsive and fair and involved in managing all the leagues. A great commissioner. But if he was going to take our money and run, he would be long gone by now and there wouldn't be an email like this. Payouts just wouldn't come, and he'd be out of the country by then and never to be found.
Personally I had 2 x $200 redraft leagues in the semis, $300 of dynasty leagues in the semis, and another $300 of dynasty leagues with top 3 picks... was counting down to Cooper-Gordon-Gurley next year.
I just don't get this whole thing.
Raiderfan32904
Footballguy
It's not enough money for Mike to leave the country and forever be an ex-patriot. So he pays back dynasty deposits, NBA and NHL leagues, which isn't his core business anyway. I don't know where he's getting the 20-40 percent number from, but I'm guessing it's more like 10-20 percent. The software development story is a sham. Notice the timing comes just days before he's supposed to be processing some heavy payouts. He had a great reputation and no one could see this coming. I don't buy his story, his excuse, his apology. He should be investigated by the FBI. His Facebook and twitter accounts are dead. He could easily be lying about returning any funds. It's just his word which isn't worth much, now that his reputation is shot.
East Coast Bias
Footballguy
fatness
Footballguy
Good god. Look at all the Phenoms leagues. And all the people getting screwed in those leagues.
http://football99.myfantasyleague.com/2014/index?YEAR=2014&SEARCH=Phenoms&submit=Go
http://football99.myfantasyleague.com/2014/index?YEAR=2014&SEARCH=Phenoms&submit=Go
ConnSKINS26
Footballguy
You could see if your league is up for cloning the rosters and just running the league yourselves. Some of these leagues can probably be saved if it's more about the time investment and attachment to the rosters/leaguemates than the big prize payouts.
Last edited by a moderator:
cstu
Footballguy
You shouldn't give money to the site that's hosting the league. A league hosting site should be just that, a league hosting site.
fatness
Footballguy
BroncoFreak_2K3
sucker for Orange
Doesn't he run Timmy's FFA League?
karmarooster
Footballguy
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
Marauder said:
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
Drunken Benson
Footballguy
I kind of wish Phenoms had never said a thing, just stole the money. Then, I'd be more excited about tomorrow's games. Should I feel good or bad if I win?
Last edited by a moderator:
Craig_MiamiFL
Footballguy
Pretty stunned at this. The guy was one of the few I'd have even considered trusting w/o LeagueSafe as I know he's been a longtime member & commissioner.
$600k is just foolish. No other way to really put it. Agree with others, why keep paying after $200k? Sucks for all involved.
I agree it really takes a lot of the fun out of the hobby.
$600k is just foolish. No other way to really put it. Agree with others, why keep paying after $200k? Sucks for all involved.
I agree it really takes a lot of the fun out of the hobby.
Last edited by a moderator:
Chili Cheese Burrito
Footballguy
I can't imagine how negative his PayPal account is going to be when all the chargebacks come filing in. Ultimately, PayPal is going to get screwed as this jackass doesn't have enough money to refund.
bicycle_seat_sniffer
Smells like chicken
wow wtf
Fariq
Footballguy
Probably did not know how to run a league by himself.
Craig_MiamiFL
Footballguy
I'm not an PayPal expert by any means, but I thought it was something like 45 (maybe 90 days) that you could dispute things.
Last edited by a moderator:
Fariq
Footballguy
East Coast Bias
Footballguy
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
HFSThat dude has his own personal armory
OK, know any vengeance is mine types who don't own sub machine guns?
Last edited by a moderator:
Chili Cheese Burrito
Footballguy
Thats just PayPal. If you paid via credit card you go to them to file the chargeback. You have to dispute with your card issuer.
17seconds
root of all aliai
Mike has been an honest and good commish for too long. He put his heart and soul into it and wanted it to succeed.
I think it is a royal ####up on his part rather than a scam.
Craig_MiamiFL
Footballguy
Peyton Marino
Footballguy
BobbyLayne
Footballguy
I don't know what to think about the numbers being thrown around in this thread.
I do know I always thought Unlucky was a good guy.
I didn't lose any money but I have played in his leagues in the past. This is a real gut punch.
East Coast Bias
Footballguy
Time to shut down the looking for leagues forum.
Limp Ditka
Footballguy
People are losing money by trusting someone on the internet with it?
Stunning
Stunning
East Coast Bias
Footballguy
fatness
Footballguy
All,
I was in a Phenoms high stakes league and made the playoffs; my money is now gone. I am taking action and need your help. I've listed contacts below where we can report Mike. I've already done it but the authorities made clear to me that for people to go after him WE NEED EVERYONE SCAMMED TO FILE A COMPLAINT. The more the better.
If you want evidence of how much a crook Mike is, check out a Google cache of his website. He had previously said that many would be kept securely in a Wells Fargo account and we were assured of payouts:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:LdMybAuziHYJ:https://www.phenomsff.com/prizes/prizes.php&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
The reason you need a Google cache to read it is that he changed his website today to remove the statement about safekeeping funds.
Here are links if you want to file complaints:
https://complaint.ic3.gov/ (Internet Crime Complaint Center)
http://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/complaint-form (Utah Attorney General)
I also called the local police where Mike lives in Murray, Utah (801-264-2673).
I know it's annoying to fill these out and call, but it doesn't take that long and really will help.
Also, here are the details on Mike's business and his home address (for the complaint forms):
[SIZE=10pt]PHENOM ENTERPRISES, LLC[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Entity Number: 7970115-0160[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Company Type: LLC - Domestic[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Address: 457 E 5600 S UNIT B Murray, UT 84107 [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]State of Origin: [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Registered Agent: MICHAEL D ZANGRILLI [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Registered Agent Address: [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]457 E 5600 S UNIT B [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Murray, UT 84107[/SIZE]
I won't stop until Mike is in jail. He's a thief and ponzi schemer--join in if you want justice. Like I said, the only way to get this guy is for everyone to complain so the authorities know how many victims there are.
Also, I'm a lawyer and he has no right to decide to pay certain people and refund certain deposits at this point. The business is insolvent (bankrupt). A trustee/court needs to figure out who is owed what.
I was in a Phenoms high stakes league and made the playoffs; my money is now gone. I am taking action and need your help. I've listed contacts below where we can report Mike. I've already done it but the authorities made clear to me that for people to go after him WE NEED EVERYONE SCAMMED TO FILE A COMPLAINT. The more the better.
If you want evidence of how much a crook Mike is, check out a Google cache of his website. He had previously said that many would be kept securely in a Wells Fargo account and we were assured of payouts:
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:LdMybAuziHYJ:https://www.phenomsff.com/prizes/prizes.php&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
The reason you need a Google cache to read it is that he changed his website today to remove the statement about safekeeping funds.
Here are links if you want to file complaints:
https://complaint.ic3.gov/ (Internet Crime Complaint Center)
http://attorneygeneral.utah.gov/complaint-form (Utah Attorney General)
I also called the local police where Mike lives in Murray, Utah (801-264-2673).
I know it's annoying to fill these out and call, but it doesn't take that long and really will help.
Also, here are the details on Mike's business and his home address (for the complaint forms):
[SIZE=10pt]PHENOM ENTERPRISES, LLC[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Entity Number: 7970115-0160[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Company Type: LLC - Domestic[/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Address: 457 E 5600 S UNIT B Murray, UT 84107 [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]State of Origin: [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Registered Agent: MICHAEL D ZANGRILLI [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Registered Agent Address: [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]457 E 5600 S UNIT B [/SIZE]
[SIZE=10pt]Murray, UT 84107[/SIZE]
I won't stop until Mike is in jail. He's a thief and ponzi schemer--join in if you want justice. Like I said, the only way to get this guy is for everyone to complain so the authorities know how many victims there are.
Also, I'm a lawyer and he has no right to decide to pay certain people and refund certain deposits at this point. The business is insolvent (bankrupt). A trustee/court needs to figure out who is owed what.
Limp Ditka
Footballguy
Very convincing argument you have going here.
Last edited by a moderator:
