Erik Chevalier Reaches Settlement With FTC For Kickstarter Failure
Two years ago we reported on the spectacular failure of one of the biggest Kickstarter success stories of 2012.
Reports are coming in that Erik Chevalier, the man behind one of the most high-profile Kickstarter game successes of 2012, The Doom That Came To Atlantic City, has admitted that he will never produce the game… Over the past 13 months, Chevalier has been releasing increasingly bleak progress reports, culminating in this post Tuesday…
The Washington Post is reporting today that Chevalier has agreed to a settlement order with the FTC that includes a $111,793.71 judgment against him — although it’s unlikely he’ll ever be able to pay it.
In its first ever enforcement action against a crowdfunded project, the Federal Trade Commission went after a board game project gone wrong… Few, if any, supporters of the project ever received refunds, the FTC alleged in a complaint against Chevalier disclosed Thursday that accuses him of deceiving backers of the project. And instead of spending most of the funds raised through Kickstarter on making the game, he spent it on himself, the agency claimed. “In reality, Defendant never hired artists for the board game and instead used the consumers’ funds for miscellaneous personal equipment, rent for a personal residence, and licenses for a separate project,” the complaint said.
Chevalier has agreed to a settlement order with agency. Under the agreement, he’s prohibited from making misrepresentations about crowdfunding campaigns and failing to honor refund policies in the future. The order also contains a $111,793.71 judgment against Chevaliar, but it is suspended because of his inability to pay. “The full amount will become due immediately if he is found to have misrepresented his financial condition,” an FTC press release said.
Read the complete article here.
That’s a surprising turnout. At least all the kickstarter backers still got their game thanks to Cryptozoic Entertainment stepping in and fulfilling the game orders.
I can’t remember if that was covered here at the gate.
It sounds, looks, and smells like fraud to me. I can tell you that I contribute to kickstarter campaigns but when this came out I pulled back on several projects and decreased my donations. It is heartening to hear that Cryptozoic Entertainment is making good for the public. I hope they are rewarded with a successful game and many customers.
Great post John. I never heard of the results until now.
> At least all the kickstarter backers still got their game thanks to Cryptozoic Entertainment stepping in
That was an extraordinarily generous and classy move. I hope it paid off for them in the long run.
> I never heard of the results until now.
Ape,
Apparently the settlement has been in the works for some time. The thing that boggles my mind is… is ALL the money gone? The FTC said the judgment against Chevaliar was suspended because of his “inability to pay.” I assume that means that he spent every dime on other things, and nothing remained to return to backers. No wonder it looked criminal enough for the FTC to get involved.
If I can set aside some time to dig into various message boards, I’ll write up a post on the Razor Coast kickstarter.
Initially started as a project by hotshot RPG designer Nick Logue and his newly founded company, Sinister Adventures, it was an abject failure and those who preordered got left holding the bag (and with lighter wallets).
Basically, Logue had no business running a business and he moved to England.
Lou Agresta put some pieces in place, the solid Frog Gog Games signed on and it became an excellent kickstarter, with Logue again right in the middle of it.
I’ve got the final product and it is impressive. Everything was delivered satisfactorily.
If I recall, when he got things going, Lou also provided refunds to all the backers of the initial project who could prove they got shafted. Even though he had nothing to do with that initial project.
It’s very much a two part story of bad, then good.
> If I can set aside some time to dig into various message boards, I’ll write up a post on the Razor Coast kickstarter.
Bob,
Wow… that’s a helluva story. By all means, write something up for us. I’d love to hear the details.
There are a couple kickstarter board games like this. Up Front war game kickstarter raised almost 340,000 and they probably won’t ever see that game.
Why isn’t there jail time with this? Is there a lawyer type in the house that can explain how someone gets away with this fraud? Next time I’m with my lawyer friend I’m going to press him about this. Grrr! They need one itty bitty mob beating put on these scammers to curb this activity before it spreads.