July 2024 - cypherpunks - lists.cpunks.org

492 Highlights to UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA CASE NO. 22-CV-14102-MIDDLEBROOKS DONALD J. TRUMP, Plaintiff, v. HILLARY R. CLINTON, et al., Defendants. ____________________
by Gunnar Larson 24 Nov '24

24 Nov '24

INTRODUCTION March 24, 2022 158 Highlights: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zggK7lgptlZ6Qn11EndzbDloqqVxRifv/view?usp=… 1. In the run-up to the 2016 Presidential Election, Hillary Clinton and her cohorts orchestrated an unthinkable plot – one that shocks the conscience and is an affront to this nation’s democracy. Acting in concert, the Defendants maliciously conspired to weave a false narrative that their Republican opponent, Donald J. Trump, was colluding with a hostile foreign sovereignty. The actions taken in furtherance of their scheme—falsifying evidence, deceiving law enforcement, and exploiting access to highly-sensitive data sources - are so outrageous, subversive and incendiary that even the events of Watergate pale in comparison. 2. Under the guise of ‘opposition research,’ ‘data analytics,’ and other political stratagems, the Defendants nefariously sought to sway the public’s trust. They worked together with a single, self-serving purpose: to vilify Donald J. Trump. Indeed, their far-reaching conspiracy was designed to cripple Trump’s bid for presidency by fabricating a scandal that would be used to trigger an unfounded federal investigation and ignite a media frenzy. 3. The scheme was conceived, coordinated and carried out by top-level officials at the Clinton Campaign and the DNC—including ‘the candidate’ herself—who attempted to shield her involvement behind a wall of third parties.1 To start, the Clinton Campaign and the DNC enlisted the assistance of their shared counsel, Perkins Coie, a law firm with deep Democrat ties, in the hopes of obscuring their actions under the veil of attorney-client privilege. Perkins Coie was tasked with spearheading the scheme to find—or fabricate—proof of a sinister link between Donald J. Trump and Russia. To do so, Perkins Coie launched parallel operations: on one front, Perkins Coie partner Marc Elias led an effort to produce spurious ‘opposition research’ claiming to reveal illicit ties between the Trump Campaign and Russian operatives; on a separate front, Perkins Coie partner Michael Sussmann headed a campaign to develop misleading evidence of a bogus ‘back channel’ connection between e-mail servers at Trump Tower and a Russian-owned bank. 4. Marc Elias, in his mission to obtain derogatory anti-Trump ‘opposition research,’ commissioned Fusion GPS, an investigative firm, and its co-founders, Peter Fritsch and Glenn Simpson, and directed them to dredge up evidence—actual or otherwise—of collusion between Trump and Russia. Fritsch and Simpson, in turn, enlisted the assistance of Orbis Ltd. and its owner, Christopher Steele, to produce a series of reports purporting to contain proof of the supposed collusion. Of course, the now fully debunked collection of reports, known as the “Steele Dossier,” was riddled with misstatements, misrepresentations and, most of all, flat out lies. In truth, the Steele Dossier was largely based upon information provided to Steele by his primary sub-source, Igor Danchenko, who was subsequently indicted for falsifying his claims. Even more damning, Danchenko had close ties to senior Clinton Campaign official, Charles Halliday Dolan, Jr., who knowingly provided false information to Danchenko, who relayed it to Steele, who reported it in the Steele Dossier and eagerly fed the deceptions to both the media and the FBI. This duplicitous arrangement existed for a singular self-serving purpose – to discredit Donald J. Trump and his campaign. 5. At the same time, Michael Sussmann, in his hunt for damaging intel against the Trump Campaign, turned to Neustar, Inc., an information technology company, and one of its top executives, Rodney Joffe, a fervent anti-Trumper who had recently been promised a high-ranking position with the Clinton Administration, to exploit their access to non-public data in search of a secret “back channel” connection between Trump Tower and Alfa Bank. When it was discovered that no such channel existed, the Defendants resorted to truly subversive measures – hacking servers at Trump Tower, Trump’s private apartment, and, most alarmingly, the White House. This ill-gotten data was then manipulated to create a misleading “inference” and submitted to law enforcement in an effort to falsely implicate Donald J. Trump and his campaign.2 All of these acts were carried out in coordination with the Clinton Campaign and the DNC, at the behest of certain Democratic “VIPs.”3 6. While their multi-pronged attack was underway, the Defendants seized on the opportunity to publicly malign Donald J. Trump by instigating a full-blown media frenzy. Indeed, the Clinton Campaign and DNC—admittedly on a “mission” to “raise the alarm” about their contrived Trump-Russia link4—repeatedly fed disinformation to the media and shamelessly promoted their false narratives. All the while, Hillary Clinton, Jake Sullivan, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and others did their best to proliferate the spread of those dubious and false claims through press releases, social media, and other public statements. 7. The fallout from the Defendants’ actions was not limited to the public denigration of Trump and his campaign. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)—relying on the Defendants’ fraudulent evidence—commenced a large-scale investigation and expended precious time, resources and taxpayer dollars looking into the spurious allegation that the Trump Campaign had colluded with the Russian Government to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. The effects of this unfounded investigation were prolonged and exacerbated by the presence of a small faction of Clinton loyalists who were well-positioned within the Department of Justice and the FBI – James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Kevin Clinesmith, and Bruce Ohr. These government officials were willing to abuse their positions of public trust to advance the baseless probe to new levels, including obtaining an extrajudicial FISA warrant and instigating the commencement of an oversight investigation headed by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. As a result, Donald J. Trump and his campaign were forced to expend tens of millions of dollars in legal fees to defend against these contrived and unwarranted proceedings. Justice would ultimately prevail – following a two-year investigation, Special Counsel Mueller went on to exonerate Donald J. Trump and his campaign with his finding that there was no evidence of collusion with Russia. 8. The full extent of the Defendants’ wrongdoing has been steadily and gradually exposed by Special Counsel John Durham, who has been heading a DOJ investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia conspiracy. To date, he has already issued indictments to Sussmann and Danchenko, among others, for proffering false statements to law enforcement officials. As outlined below, these ‘speaking’ indictments not only implicate many of the Defendants named herein but also provide a great deal of insight into the inner-workings of the Defendants’ conspiratorial enterprise. Based on recent developments and the overall direction of Durham’s investigation, it seems all but certain that additional indictments are forthcoming. 9. In short, the Defendants, blinded by political ambition, orchestrated a malicious conspiracy to disseminate patently false and injurious information about Donald J. Trump and his campaign, all in the hopes of destroying his life, his political career and rigging the 2016 Presidential Election in favor of Hillary Clinton. When their gambit failed, and Donald J. Trump was elected, the Defendants’ efforts continued unabated, merely shifting their focus to undermining his presidential administration. Worse still, the Defendants continue to spread their vicious lies to this day as they unabashedly publicize their thoroughly debunked falsehoods in an effort to ensure that he will never be elected again. The deception, malice, and treachery perpetrated by the Defendants has caused significant harm to the American people, and to the Plaintiff, Donald J. Trump, and they must be held accountable for their heinous acts. ____________________ BACKGROUND September 8, 2022 190 Highlights: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JUQtPF8f6ckSRHwLcu3S_joyF5xQoA-A/view?usp=… Plaintiff initiated this lawsuit on March 24, 2022, alleging that “the Defendants, blinded by political ambition, orchestrated a malicious conspiracy to disseminate patently false and injurious information about Donald J. Trump and his campaign, all in the hopes of destroying his life, his political career and rigging the 2016 Presidential Election in favor of Hillary Clinton.” (DE 177, Am. Compl. ¶ 9). On this general premise, Plaintiff brings a claim for violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), predicated on the theft of trade secrets, obstruction of justice, and wire fraud (Count I). He additionally brings claims for: injurious falsehood (Count III); malicious prosecution (Count V); violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) (Count VII); theft of trade secrets under the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (“DTSA”) (Count VIII); and violations of the Stored Communications Act (“SCA”) (Count IX). The Amended Complaint also contains counts for various conspiracy charges and theories of agency and vicarious liability. (Counts II, IV, VI, and X–XVI). Plaintiff’s theory of this case, set forth over 527 paragraphs in the first 118 pages of the Amended Complaint, is difficult to summarize in a concise and cohesive manner. It was certainly not presented that way. Nevertheless, I will attempt to distill it here. The short version: Plaintiff alleges that the Defendants “[a]cting in concert . . . maliciously conspired to weave a false narrative that their Republican opponent, Donald J. Trump, was colluding with a hostile foreign sovereignty.” (Am. Compl. ¶ 1). The Defendants effectuated this alleged conspiracy through two core efforts. “[O]n one front, Perkins Coie partner Mark Elias led an effort to produce spurious ‘opposition research’ claiming to reveal illicit ties between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives.” (Id. ¶ 3). To that end, Defendant Hillary Clinton and her campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and lawyers for the Campaign and the Committee allegedly hired Defendant Fusion GPS to fabricate the Steele Dossier. (Id. ¶ 4). “[O]n a separate front, Perkins Coie partner Michael Sussman headed a campaign to develop misleading evidence of a bogus ‘back channel’ connection between e-mail servers at Trump Tower and a Russian- owned bank.” (Id.). Clinton and her operatives allegedly hired Defendant Rodney Joffe to exploit his access to Domain Name Systems (“DNS”) data, via Defendant Neustar, to investigate and ultimately manufacture a suspicious pattern of activity between Trump-related servers and a Russian bank with ties to Vladimir Putin, Alfa Bank. (Id. ¶ 3). As a result of this “fraudulent evidence,” the Federal Bureau of Investigations (“FBI”) commenced “several large-scale investigations,” which were “prolonged and exacerbated by the presence of a small faction of Clinton loyalists who were well-positioned within the Department of Justice”—Defendants James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, Kevin Clinesmith, and Bruce Ohr. (Id. ¶ 7). And while this was ongoing, the Defendants allegedly “seized on the opportunity to publicly malign Donald J. Trump by instigating a full-blown media frenzy.” (Id. ¶ 6). As a result of this “multi-pronged attack,” Plaintiff claims to have amassed $24 million in damages.1(Id. ¶ 527). Defendants now move to dismiss the Amended Complaint as “a series of disconnected political disputes that Plaintiff has alchemized into a sweeping conspiracy among the many individuals Plaintiff believes to have aggrieved him.” (DE 226 at 1). They argue that dismissal is warranted because Plaintiff’s claims are both “hopelessly stale”—that is, foreclosed by the applicable statutes of limitations—and because they fail on the merits “in multiple independent respects.” (Id. at 2). As they view it, “[w]hatever the utilities of [the Amended Complaint] as a fundraising tool, a press release, or a list of political grievances, it has no merit as a lawsuit.” (Id.). I agree. In the discussion that follows, I first address the Amended Complaint’s structural deficiencies. I then turn to subject matter jurisdiction and the personal jurisdiction arguments raised by certain Defendants. Finally, I assess the sufficiency of the allegations as to each of the substantive counts. ____________________ BACKGROUND October 31, 2022 25 Highlights: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QynNCV7iSPi-8b6dt605jmFTTNSaXtuD/view?usp=… PlaintifP’s pleadings and theories were obviously and fatally defective from the very inceptionof this action. Plaintiff's initial Complaint spanned 108 pages and S08 paragraphs. DE 1 (March 24, 2022). It named 28 individual defendants, as well as 10 John Does and 10 ABC Corporations. /d. Less than a month after the Complaint was filed, Hillary Clinton moved to dismiss it with prejudice. DE 52 (Apr. 20,2022). Defendant Clinton’s motion identified manyofthe fundamentalfactual deficiencies and legal flaws that would ultimately lead this Court to dismiss the Amended Complaint: namely, (1) that Plaintifs claims were untimely on their face, DE 52 at 1-5; (2) that Plaintiff's own tweets confirmed his knowledge ofhis supposed claimsno later than October 2017, DE 52 at 2-3; (3) that Plaintiffs Complaint was replete with inadequate and conclusory allegations, DE 52 at 6; (4) that Plaintiff failed to allege a RICO enterprise, DE 52 at 7; (5) that Plaintiff failed to allege the predicate act of theft of trade secrets based on DNS information, DE 52 at 8-9; (6) thatPlaintifffailedtoallege the predicate act ofobstructionofjustice in part because he identified no “official proceeding,” DE 52 at 9-10; (7) that Plaintiff failed to allege a patter of racketeering activity, DE 52 at 11-12; (8) that Plaintiff failed to adequately allege RICO standing because his supposed injuries were almostentirely undescribed, DE 52.at 12-14; (9) that Plaintiffs injurious falsehood claim was barred by the First Amendment, DE 52 at 15-17; (10) that Plaintiff failed to allege almost every necessary clementof injurious falsehood under Florida law, DE 52 at 17-18; (11) that Plaintiff failed to allege a malicious prosecution claim as to any official proceeding and, in particular, as to the properly predicated Crossfire Hurricane investigation, DE 52 at 19-20; and (12) that Plaintiff failed to allege a claim for “agency” because it is not an independent cause of action under Florida law. In response, Plaintiff's counsel indicated that they planned to amend the Complaint. DE 66 (Apr. 21, 2022). Defendant Clinton did not oppose counsel's request for an extension of time in whichto amend. See, e.g., DE 102 (Apr. 27,2022). In the intervening period, other Defendants joined Clinton's motion to dismiss and filed their own motions alertingPlaintiff and his counsel to additional fatal defects in the Complaint. See DE 124 (John Podesta), 139 (Peter Fritsch, Fusion GPS, Glenn Simpson); 141 (DNC Services Corporation, Democratic National Committee, Debbie Wasserman Schultz); 143 (Perkins Coie); 144 (Nellie Ohr); 145 (Robby Mook): 146 (Michael Sussmann); 147 (Mare Elias); 149 (HFACC); 157 (Rodney Joffe); 159 (Igor Danchenko); 160 (Neustar, Inc.); 162 & 163 (Charles Halliday Dolan, Jr.); 165 (Jake Sullivan). With respect to each motion, Plaintiff's counsel indicated that they planned to amend in response to the motions, and Defendants did not oppose extensionsof time to allow them to do so. See DE 153 (May 17,2022). PlaintifP’s counsel filed the Amended Complaint approximately two months after receiving Defendant Clinton’s motion to dismiss and with the benefit of Defendants” additional motions in the interim. DE 177 (June 21, 2022). “But despite this briefing, PlaintifPs Amended Complaint failed to cureanyofthe deficiencies.”DE 267 at 63-64 (Sept. 8, 2022) (“0p.”). “Instead, Plaintiff added eighty new pages of largely irrelevant allegations that did nothing to salvage the legal sufficiency of his claims.” Op. at 64. The Amended Complaint is “193 pages in length, with 819 numbered paragraphs,” and “contains 14 counts, names 31 defendants, 10 “John Does” described as fictitious and unknown persons, and 10 *ABC Corporations’ identified as fictitious and unknown entities.” Op. at 4. ____________________ BACKGROUND November 10, 2022 66 Highlights: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ppCsJe6sSJKIionWtII4rI4qRMbKzBn3/view?usp=… The Complaint. In March 2022, Charles Dolan was among 29 defendants initially sued by Mr. Trump. (DE 1). He was identified as a former chairman of the DNC, a senior official in the Clinton Campaign, and a close associate of and advisor to Hillary Clinton. The Complaint alleged that in April 2016, Mr. Dolan participated in discussions about the creation of a “dossier” to smear Mr. Trump and disseminate false accusations to the media (Compl. ¶ 79), and at the direction of Ms. Clinton assisted in preparation of the dossier (Compl. ¶ 81). According to the Complaint, an allegation contained within the dossier that Mr. Trump engaged in salacious sexual activity in a Moscow hotel was derived from Mr. Dolan. (Compl. ¶ 91). Mr. Dolan was sued for RICO conspiracy (Count II), conspiracy to commit injurious falsehood (Count IV), and conspiracy to commit malicious prosecution (Count VI). The Warning Letter. On May 31, 2022, counsel for Mr. Dolan wrote the attorneys for Mr. Trump. They warned: 1. That Mr. Dolan had no role in any conspiracy related to the Steele dossier. 2. That Mr. Dolan was not a source for the allegations of sexual activity. 3. That Mr. Dolan had not been in contact with any defendant other than Igor Danchenko, and that Mr. Dolan’s contacts with Mr. Danchenko involved business interests and help for a conference in Moscow. 4. That Mr. Dolan had never been chairman of the DNC. 5. That Ms. Clinton was on record through a spokesperson as stating she had no recollection of Mr. Dolan. (DE 268-1). The letter requested that Mr. Dolan not be named as a defendant in any forthcoming Amended Complaint. The letter further warned that if he were to be named, or if he was not dropped from the original Complaint, Rule 11 sanctions would be sought. The Amended Complaint. On June 21, 2022, Plaintiff filed an Amended Complaint, as had been expected. It ballooned to 193 pages, 819 paragraphs and 31 defendants. With respect to Mr. Dolan, the allegations remained essentially the same. But in the Amended Complaint, Mr. Dolan was identified somewhat more vaguely as the former chairman of a “national Democratic political organization.” (Am. Compl. ¶ 96). Elsewhere, he was described as a “senior Clinton Campaign Official.” (Am. Compl. ¶ 4). Moreover, and somewhat inexplicably, Mr. Dolan was identified in the Amended Complaint as a citizen and resident of New York, despite a declaration that Mr. Dolan had provided to Plaintiff’s lawyers explaining that Mr. Dolan was a resident of Virginia. (Am. Compl. ¶ 20; DE 268-2). The Sanctions Motion and Memorandum. On July 15, 2022, Mr. Dolan served on Mr. Trump’s lawyers a motion seeking sanctions pursuant to Rule 11. The motion pointed out that the change in Mr. Dolan’s purported title from “former chairman of the DNC” in the original Complaint to “former chairman of a national Democratic political organization,” in the Amended Complaint did not solve the problems identified in the warning letter because Mr. Dolan had never been the chairman of any such organization. The motion further explained that Mr. Dolan’s role in the Clinton Campaign was limited to knocking on doors as a volunteer. The motion also stated that Mr. Dolan had never been a resident of New York, that Mr. Dolan had told Plaintiff’s lawyers so, and that the allegations of the Amended Complaint to that effect demonstrated a lack of diligence over something easily checked. Mr. Dolan’s motion for sanctions went on to place the Trump lawyers on notice of a critical failure in their claims, warning them that the Danchenko Indictment referenced throughout the Amended Complaint not only failed to support their allegations against Mr. Dolan but contradicted them. That warning continues to be unheeded. ____________________ BACKGROUND January 19, 2023 53 Highlights: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sf0y-bIBdwaa1PO0Y3hKWhhImoXXCfbR/view?usp=… Plaintiff initiated this lawsuit on March 24, 2022, alleging that “the Defendants, blinded by political ambition, orchestrated a malicious conspiracy to disseminate patently false and injurious information about Donald J. Trump and his campaign, all in the hope of destroying his life, his political career, and rigging the 2016 Presidential Election in favor of Hillary Clinton.” (DE 1 ¶ 9). The next day, Alina Habba, Mr. Trump’s lead counsel told Fox News’ Sean Hannity: You can’t make this up. You literally cannot make a story like this up . . . and President Trump is just not going to take it anymore. If you are going to make up lies, if you are going to try to take him down, he is going to fight you back. And that is what this is, this is the beginning of all that.1 She then explained on Newsmax: What the real goal [of the suit] is, is democracy, is continuing to make sure that our elections, continuing to make sure our justice system is not obstructed by political enemies. That cannot happen. And that’s exactly what happened. They obstructed justice. They continued the false narrative . . . This grand scheme, that you could not make up, to take down an opponent. That is un-American.2 On April 20, 2022, less than a month after the Complaint was filed, Hillary Clinton moved for dismissal with prejudice. Her motion identified substantial and fundamental factual and legal flaws. Each of the other Defendants followed suit, pointing to specific problems with the claims against them. The problems in the Complaint were obvious from the start. They were identified by the Defendants not once but twice, and Mr. Trump persisted anyway. Despite this briefing and the promise “to cure any deficiencies,” Plaintiff’s counsel filed the Amended Complaint on June 21, 2022. (DE 177). The Amended Complaint failed to cure any of the defects. See DE 267, Order of Dismissal (September 8, 2022). Instead, Plaintiff added eighty new pages of largely irrelevant allegations that did nothing to salvage the legal sufficiency of his claims. (DE 267 at 64). The Amended Complaint is 193 pages in length, with 819 numbered paragraphs, and contains 14 counts, names 31 defendants, 10 John Does described as fictitious and unknown persons, and 10 ABC Corporations identified as fictitious and unknown entities. On July 14, 2022, the United States moved pursuant to the Westfall Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2679 (d)(i), to substitute itself as Defendant for James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page, and Kevin Clinesmith. (DE 224). On July 21, 2022, I granted the motion to substitute. (DE 234). On September 8, 2022, I dismissed the case with prejudice as to all Defendants except for the United States. 3 I issued a detailed and lengthy Order, which I incorporate by reference here. (DE 267). I found that fatal substantive defects which had been clearly laid out in the first round of briefing, precluded the Plaintiff from proceeding under any of the theories presented. I found that the Amended Complaint was a quintessential shotgun pleading, that its claims were foreclosed by existing precedent, and its factual allegations were undermined and contradicted by the public reports and filings upon which it purported to rely. I reserved jurisdiction to adjudicate issues pertaining to sanctions. Undeterred by my Order and two rounds of briefing by multiple defendants, Ms. Habba continued to advance Plaintiff’s claims. In a September 10, 2022, interview with Sean Hannity, the host asked her “Why isn’t [Hillary Clinton] being held accountable for what she did?” Ms. Habba’s response reiterated misrepresentations on which this lawsuit was based: Because when you have a Clinton judge as we did here, Judge Middlebrooks who I had asked to recuse himself but insisted that he didn’t need to, he was going to be impartial, and then proceeds to write a 65-page scathing order where he basically ignored every factual basis which was backed up by indictments, by investigations, the Mueller report, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, not to mention Durham, and all the testimony we heard there, we get dismissed. Not only do we get dismissed, he says that this is not the proper place for recourse for Donald Trump. He has no legal ramifications. Where what [sic] is the proper place for him? Because the FBI won’t help when you can do anything, obstruct justice, blatantly lie to the FBI, Sussmann’s out, he gets acquitted, where do you go? That’s the concern for me, where do you get that -- that recourse?4 She also indicated that, while Mr. Trump doubted the suit would succeed, she nevertheless “fought” to pursue it: You know, I have to share with you a story, Sean, that I have not shared with anybody. The recourse that I have at this point is obviously to appeal this to the 11th Circuit as Gregg said. But when I brought this case and we were assigned you know, this judge and we went through the recusal process, we lost five magistrates, including Reinhart [sic] who’s dealing with the boxes as we know. The former president looked at me and he told me, you know what Alina. You’re not going to win. You can’t win, just get rid of it, don’t do the case. And I said, no, we have to fight. It’s not right what happened. And you know, he was right, and it’s a sad day for me personally because I fought him on [it] and I should have listened, but I don’t want to lose hope in our system. I don’t. So, you know I’m deciding whether we’re going to appeal it.5 Defendants now move to recover attorneys’ fees and costs under Fed. R. Civ. P. 11, 28 U.S.C. § 1927, the Defend Trade Secrets Act, and/or this Court’s inherent power. (DE 280 at 1). In Part II, I find that a sanction under this Court’s inherent power is appropriate. I do so by examining Plaintiff’s (and his lawyers’) conduct throughout this litigation. In Part III, I look to Plaintiff’s conduct in other cases. And in Part IV, I determine the reasonableness of Defendants’ attorneys’ fees and costs.

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Adrienne Harris Is Crypto’s Most Powerful Regulator
by Gunnar Larson 24 Nov '24

24 Nov '24

THE MONEY GAME MAR. 30, 2022 Crypto’s Most Powerful Regulator Is Here Adrienne Harris, New York’s financial watchdog, has enormous sway over the industry’s future. By Kevin T. Dugan, staff writer at Intelligencer, who covers money and business Photo: Victor Llorente Thirteen years after the birth of cryptocurrency, it was supposed to be time for Washington to rein it in. Instead, the White House punted, and the Securities and Exchange Commission is still hashing out how it’s going to oversee the $2 trillion industry. State watchdogs have filled that vacuum, making Adrienne Harris, the head of the New York State Department of Financial Services, by default the most powerful crypto regulator in the country. While states such as Florida and Wyoming have adopted a laissez-faire approach to regulation, attracting a sizable chunk of the booming industry, more money and jobs are still flowing into New York than any other city, making it the de facto crypto capital of the U.S. “There’s a misconception that having rigorous regulation turns off innovative companies,” Harris tells me during an hour-long interview at her office looking out onto the Statue of Liberty last month. “That hasn’t been our experience here.” Sign up for Dinner Party A lively evening newsletter about everything that just happened. SIGN UP Harris was tapped as the first Black woman to lead DFS last year. She came into her position after a turn working in Silicon Valley and representing Wall Street banks, a résumé that critics have used to paint her as too close to the industries she is regulating. She’s eager to dispel any criticism that she’s soft as a regulator, especially when it comes to crypto. Harris says she’s looking to expand the agency’s remit, hire new regulators, and possibly watch over lending and asset management in decentralized finance, a.k.a. DeFi, one of the fastest-growing crypto industries, which has been prone to very large hacks. The agency’s power over the industry lies mostly with the BitLicense, a required if unloved permit for crypto exchanges to operate within state lines. When it was first introduced in 2014, it was meant to be a model for the country, but the crypto industry has attacked the license for being too strict, limiting what people can trade, and requiring expensive anti-money-laundering operations, which, it should be noted, most traditional financial institutions are required to maintain. For Harris, the problem isn’t that it’s too restrictive — it’s that the process of getting one, which has stretched years for some companies, is too slow. “If you think about the companies that are BitLicensees, and even the companies in the queue, having the imprimatur of ‘Have you passed regulatory muster with a stringent regulatory regime?’ — I think the good actors see that as a good thing,” she says. Created in 2011, DFS has been a regulator feared more than any of its counterparts in other states for the power it has over banks, insurance companies, and a host of other financial institutions. It brought ambitious money-laundering cases against banks like BNP Paribas (a settlement that resulted in several bankers losing their jobs), fined Deutsche Bank for its relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, and levied a $2.5 million fine on the National Rifle Association for selling its so-called murder insurance in the state. “DFS has a lot of teeth, and the sky’s the limit if the agency is exercised properly,” says state Sen. John Liu of Queens, a member of the state finance committee. “DFS compelled multinational banks to cough up $15 billion. We were able to build a couple bridges with that money. We still have much infrastructure in the state of New York that might benefit from DFS’s vigorous functions.” But part of DFS’s mandate is to keep the state’s economy healthy, a balancing act when it means protecting consumers from predatory, but also lucrative, companies. “For me, it’s an opportunity to bring my lived experience as a woman of color,” Harris says. So far, she has established the agency’s first climate division, frozen fees for check-cashing businesses that target the poor, and looked into non-bank lenders for evidence of redlining. “It’s important to me that those voices are at the table and being heard,” she says. “I bring a sort of pragmatism. It’s one thing to sit in our offices with nice views and make policy, but it’s another thing, in my mind, to really run the water through the pipes.” In 2008, Harris joined Sullivan & Cromwell, a law firm so close with Goldman Sachs that it has long sent its lawyers to work in-house at the investment bank. It was there that she worked for H. Rodgin “Rodge” Cohen, then the law firm’s chairman and the so-called trauma surgeon of Wall Street. Cohen remembers Harris working late into the night writing near-flawless memorandums so they’d be ready on his desk in the morning. “She just brought what I’d call a penetrating intelligence to the problems that were at hand,” Cohen tells me. “Many of the problems we get, you cannot just look up the answer in a book. It’s a question of judgment and trying to apply rules written often for other circumstances.” Still, it was clear that corporate law wasn’t for her. “Her heart was really in public service,” he says. From there, she went on to work for the Treasury Department, then the Obama White House, where she focused on policies around the then-upstart fintech industry. After the administration turned over, Harris took a spin through the revolving door between government and business. Her New York financial-disclosure forms show a superabundance of work with the tech and finance industries: She sat on the boards of six companies and nonprofits, including LendingClub, which had recently settled with the Federal Trade Commission over claims it had misled users on fees. She also advised 11 companies, owned two, and invested in or on behalf of two others. “I just thought, well, if you’re going to make policy about it, you should do the thing — run the company, build the company,” she says. “At the time, I felt very comfortable going to a start-up because I thought, well, coming out of government, you’re not making a ton of money. And if this start-up blows up, I’ll probably be no worse off, financially speaking.” It seems Harris did well enough. One real-estate tech company at which she worked went public last summer, and Harris appears to have cashed out. Since the disclosures were for 2020, they didn’t include her stake in Forethought, a private A.I.-based customer-service company that announced in December that it had attracted such investors as Harris, Ashton Kutcher, and Gwenyth Paltrow. When I asked her about Forethought, Harris said her investment in the company predated her time at DFS, that all her investments are now in a blind trust, and that she would recuse herself from any dealings with companies she has conflicts with. So when Hochul appointed Harris to lead DFS, she was attacked by the left. Zephyr Teachout and Cynthia Nixon both criticized Harris as being insufficiently independent, thanks to her connections in tech and finance. The American Prospect dug up a speech in which she characterized regulators as looking for “no-nos” and “icky things.” Harris has also advised the cash-advance companies Earnin, Brigit, and SmartWage (based in South Africa), according to her disclosures. In 2019, DFS led a multi-state investigation into the cash-advance industry over whether they created debt traps and state banking and anti-usury laws, since equivalent interest rates for the fees they charged would reach as high as 469 percent. A person directly familiar with the investigation told me that Harris’s predecessor was presented with multiple options for furthering the investigation, including reaching a settlement, but ultimately never made a decision. DFS wouldn’t comment. So, of all the companies to work for, why them? “My role, when I was working with those companies, was not to dictate price pricing or business model. It was more to say: Here’s how regulators would view this. Here’s why you should engage with them. Let me help you engage with them and figure out these issues and how you can also serve customers. Less pricing and business model, but, as an adviser who’s not in the day-to-day, helping to sort of guide a culture and mentality,” she says. Did she disagree with those arguing that these companies created debt traps for consumers? “I think it’s hard to paint with a broad brush,” she says. “I think we should always always be careful with any new products and services, that they are affordable and non-predatory, not creating debt traps, and that they’re solving a real problem for consumers. And I think some do that and some don’t.” Last summer, after Andrew Cuomo resigned as governor, many of his appointees went with him, including then-superintendent of DFS, Linda Lacewell. Soon Harris’s old boss, Cohen, had recommended her to Kathryn Wylde, the president and CEO of the Partnership for New York, a business-advocacy group that has advised DFS. “The folks at Sullivan & Cromwell thought that Adrienne would be a terrific candidate to field for that job given her eight years of experience in the Obama administration and the fact that she was somebody who understood industry,” Wylde says. “On the theory that a regulator should know something about the industries they’re regulating — which may be a novel concept but struck me as a valid one — I thought she sounded like a terrific candidate.” Harris sailed through her confirmation, with 63 senators voting for her and nine against. “When the regulated are complaining that the regulator is being too aggressive, that generally means the regulator is doing their job.” said Michael Gianaris, the state senator from Queens who voted against Harris’s nomination and, in 2019, tanked Amazon’s proposed HQ2 in New York. “Cuomo was a prick, and the people he appointed tended to share his bare-knuckles approach to the world. In some cases, that’s actually not a bad thing.” While the crypto industry doesn’t appear to be getting the reprieve it had been hoping for, other industries will surely lobby Harris to make similar gestures toward the business community. For instance, Wylde says that insurance companies are hoping that Harris will lower the reserves they are required to have on hold, which they claim are higher than what’s required by other states. “There are some long-standing issues that the industry has that they feel that they’ve got a fresh start on with Adrienne’s leadership,” she says. Still, crypto is going to play a major part in how Harris’s tenure is defined. “It’s clear that New York is doing well now and the companies that came and started here five to ten years ago are doing well,” says Matt Homer, a former deputy superintendent at DFS and the current executive-in-residence at the venture-capital fund NYCA Partners. “It’s not totally clear what the future will look like five to ten years from now.” New York is the home base for major exchanges such as Coinbase and Gemini, and it’s also home to shady NFT front-running scandals and alleged rapping billionaire money launderers. That such a volatile industry could implode and damage New York’s economy is apparent. “I understand that other states may have gone the opposite way of the BitLicense, but there are things we can do here in New York that will hopefully inform the federal regulators as they continue to think about this space,” Harris said. “It’s a new world with crypto, with DeFi, with NFTs.” SIGN UP FOR THE INTELLIGENCER NEWSLETTER Daily news about the politics, business, and technology shaping our world. Email SIGN UP TAGS: THE MONEY GAME CRYPTOCURRENCY LEAVE A COMMENT 12/12/2022 CRIME Sam Bankman-Fried Has Been Arrested in the Bahamas By Kevin T. Dugan The disgraced FTX founder is facing charges from both the Justice Department and the S.E.C. 12/12/2022 POLITICS Twitter’s Former Safety Head Forced From Home After Being Smeared by Elon Musk By Chas Danner Former Twitter executive Yoel Roth and his family have reportedly faced a torrent of harassment and threats after Elon Musk’s false claims. 12/12/2022 WHAT WE KNOW How Big Is the U.S. Fusion Breakthrough? By Chas Danner The Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has reportedly achieved a historic milestone in nuclear fusion. MOST POPULAR The ‘Twitter Files’ Is What It Claims to Expose By ERIC LEVITZ Twitter’s Former Safety Head Forced From Home After Being Smeared by Elon Musk By CHAS DANNER How Big Is the U.S. Fusion Breakthrough? 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Dugan The Justice Department is weighing criminal charges against the world’s biggest crypto exchange. 12/12/2022 THE NATIONAL INTEREST Red-Pilled Elon Musk Still Loves the Chinese Communist Party By Jonathan Chait The Twitter owner may hate the left, but he does admire Leninism. 12/12/2022 ELON MUSK Elon Musk Gets Loudly Booed at Chappelle Comedy Show By Benjamin Hart “It sounds like some of the people you fired are in the audience.” 12/12/2022 POLITICS Jay Jacobs Has Few Regrets and No Apologies By Nia Prater Despite a bruising midterm, the Democratic boss isn’t going anywhere, to the frustration of critics. 12/10/2022 THE MEDIA The ‘Twitter Files’ Is What It Claims to Expose By Eric Levitz The purported exposé of Twitter’s political bias is itself an attempt to weaponize control of Twitter for political purposes. 12/9/2022 BRITTNEY GRINER What’s Next for Viktor Bout, According to His Lawyer By Amos Barshad Steve Zissou predicts the notorious arms dealer will now lead a “quiet existence.” 12/9/2022 WORLD CUP The Best Team in the World Is Out of the World Cup By Benjamin Hart Another devastating quarterfinals defeat for Brazil. 12/9/2022 POLITICS What Happens to Paul Whelan Now? By Nia Prater President Biden said his administration is not giving up on securing the former marine’s release from Russia. 12/9/2022 JUST ASKING QUESTIONS A Crisis-PR Veteran on Sam Bankman-Fried’s Odd Media Strategy By Benjamin Hart Eric Dezenhall thinks the explanation for SBF’s behavior is pretty straightforward. 12/9/2022 WORLD CUP Goalkeepers Gone Wild By David Gendelman At the World Cup, netminders are increasingly going on offense. The consequences can be miraculous or disastrous. 12/9/2022 THE NATIONAL INTEREST Kyrsten Sinema Is Playing Chicken By Jonathan Chait Declaring herself an independent is a way to force the Democratic Party into embracing her. 12/9/2022 FINDINGS Why Spending Time With Kids Might Actually Help Protect You From COVID By David Zweig Two studies find an immunological downside for adults who stay away from children. 12/9/2022 FIRST PERSON I Lost My Brother Twice By Alex Brook Lynn First to schizophrenia, then forever to the city. 12/8/2022 SPORTS Brittney Griner Is Coming Home From a Russian Prison By Margaret Hartmann And Nia Prater The WNBA star is headed home after being released in a prisoner swap for the notorious international arms dealer. 12/8/2022 STOP THE PRESSES Just What Did the Times Walkout Change? By Shawn McCreesh Some employees have said they are ready to vote on a strike authorization as soon as tomorrow. Others worry this has all gone too far. 12/8/2022 TREMENDOUS CONTENT Do the Trumps Want to Crop Kimberly Guilfoyle Out of the Family? By Margaret Hartmann Eric Trump felt compelled to announce that, despite the rumors, he doesn’t hate his brother’s fiancée. Ivanka Trump’s silence may say more. 12/8/2022 SAM BANKMAN-FRIED Sam Bankman-Fried’s Parents Are No Longer Teaching Law at Stanford By Kevin T. Dugan His mother says her sudden decision to retire now has “nothing to do with anything else going on.” 12/8/2022 TREMENDOUS CONTENT Donald Trump Cost Lara Trump Her Fox News Gig By Margaret Hartmann Nepotism giveth, and nepotism taketh away. 12/8/2022 And now the House 258-169-1, House passes bill to protect same sex marriages. 39 Rs vote for it. Bill heads to Biden —@mkraju 12/8/2022 BRITTNEY GRINER The 7 Craziest Facts About Arms Trafficker Viktor Bout’s Career By Matt Stieb Getting to know the “merchant of death” the U.S. just sent to Russia in a prisoner swap for basketball star Brittney Griner. SIGN IN TO COMMENT Like Us Follow Us ABOUT INTELLIGENCER ABOUT NEW YORK MAGAZINE NEWSLETTERS HELP CONTACT PRESS MEDIA KIT WE’RE HIRING PRIVACY TERMS AD CHOICES DO NOT SELL MY INFO ACCESSIBILITY INTELLIGENCER IS A VOX MEDIA NETWORK. © 2022 VOX MEDIA, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Holiday Sale: Save up to 70% and get two exclusive gifts with any annual plan. SUBSCRIBE NOW " https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/03/adrienne-harris-is-cryptos-most-pow…

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The Silk Road Investigation: A 'Pattern of Bad Behavior and Double Agents' ? Bitcoin News
by Gunnar Larson 21 Nov '24

21 Nov '24

Whete is Kathryn Haun when you need her on NYCCoin? ..... https://news.bitcoin.com/the-silk-road-investigation-a-pattern-of-bad-behav… by Jamie Redman Oct 22, 2019 The Silk Road Investigation: A 'Pattern of Bad Behavior and Double Agents' The Silk Road Investigation: A 'Pattern of Bad Behavior and Double Agents' Kathryn Haun, a general partner at U.S. venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, has revealed in recent interviews how she helped take down the Silk Road when she was working for the Attorney General’s office. According to her accounts, the U.S. government agency also asked her to help “start shutting down technology before it’s built.” Haun’s story also highlights how the U.S. government’s evidence against the Silk Road transpired because of double agents. Also read: FBI Agent Admits to Stealing Silk Road Bitcoins Seized by U.S. Marshals Kathryn Haun Was Asked to Disrupt Bitcoin in 2012 During the last few years, governments worldwide have been cracking down on digital assets like on and off-ramps that are tied to fiat. Regulations are far stricter than they were in the early days, when governments first heard about cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. Andreessen Horowitz general partner Kathryn Haun has a lot of experience working with government agencies when it comes to the cryptocurrency economy. She witnessed the takedown of the Silk Road darknet marketplace and before she started she was even asked to help dismantle the Bitcoin network. During an interview with CNBC, Haun revealed how a colleague mentioned the up and coming technology to her in 2012. “‘We have this perfect assignment for you – there’s this thing called Bitcoin and we need to investigate it,'” Haun told the news outlet on October 6. “That was the first time I’d ever heard of bitcoin,” she added. The Silk Road Investigation: A 'Pattern of Bad Behavior and Double Agents' Former Silk Road investigator Kathryn Haun. Attempts to shut down Bitcoin by agencies such as the U.S. Department of Justice were fruitless ventures, Haun detailed. “It would have been akin to saying ‘let’s go prosecute cash,'” the former prosecutor said. “What we heard with Libra were the same criticisms [about Bitcoin],” Haun remarked. While discussing the similarities between her early days with Bitcoin in contrast to Libra, she continued: They got more attention because of the high-profile nature of the project and the fact that Facebook was involved. I think it would be a really dangerous thing, and frankly a dangerous precedent to start shutting down technology before it’s built. Uncovering the Silk Road and Parallel Investigations During another recently published interview with Haun, the Andreesen Horowitz partner spoke with Hayman Capital founder Kyle Bass about her role during the prosecution of the Silk Road marketplace. “The Silk Road was making millions of dollars a month and they were generating a lot of revenue,” Haun stressed. She doesn’t remember exactly how the Silk Road case got opened in New York, but she recalls Senator Chuck Schumer read a Wired article that prompted him to wonder why the marketplace was allowed to exist. “So the Southern District of New York, which is another Attorney General’s office – I was in the U.S. Attorney General’s office in San Francisco – SDNY opened the case and was trying to figure out who was behind the Silk Road. At this same time, a D.C. office was also trying to figure out who was running the Silk Road — And there were parallel investigations going.” The Silk Road Investigation: A 'Pattern of Bad Behavior and Double Agents' Haun discusses the Silk Road investigation with Hayman Capital founder Kyle Bass. Haun explained that the government had task forces comprised of many alphabet soup agencies: “We’re talking the FBI, CIA, Secret Service, DEA, ATF, and the U.S. Marshals,” she underlined. “One task force, the one out of Washington D.C., they had an undercover agent. That undercover agent was able to befriend the person running the Silk Road. All the government knew at the time was that the person running the Silk Road went by the nickname ‘DPR’ for ‘Dread Pirate Roberts’ from the movie ‘The Princess Bride.’ So they didn’t know who DPR was, but the undercover agent actually set up an attempt to buy the Silk Road.” The Foundation of Evidence from the Silk Road Case Stemmed from Double Agents According to the former prosecutor, the undercover agent struck many online conversations with DPR and proceeded for the next two years to engage and message with the moniker. “A lot of things went wrong on both sides — From the Silk Road side, 2013 was a really bad year for the Silk Road because what you had was a person who had an online persona called ‘Death from Above,’” Haun said. “Death from Above starting extorting DPR and saying ‘if you don’t pay me hundreds of thousands of dollars in bitcoin I’m going to reveal your identity to law enforcement.’ Meanwhile, there was another online persona who went by the moniker ‘French Maid.’ French Maid was selling DPR information about the government’s investigation. French Maid told DPR the Feds are closing in and the end is near and you are about to be had.” Haun added: The government didn’t know any of this then and it all came out after the fact. In the midst of this, something else really bad happened in 2013 — About 21,000 bitcoins, which is today in excess of roughly $150 million dollars, went missing overnight from the Silk Road. From Silk Road vendor accounts and from what you might consider the petty cash account — Although there’s nothing petty about 21,000 bitcoins. The Silk Road Investigation: A 'Pattern of Bad Behavior and Double Agents' Haun’s story begs the question: How much evidence would the government have without the use of double agents and rogue officers manipulating the investigation? During the remainder of the interview, Haun discussed Curtis Green’s role with the Silk Road and said Green showed the Feds “how the Silk Road worked, how to log into it, how to reset vendor PINs and passwords, and of course [Green] had that access because he was the key administrator.” Haun also said Green even gave his laptop to the Feds to keep as evidence. The discussion with Kyle Bass shows how government agents claim to have dismantled the Silk Road from the words of a former Federal prosecutor. However, Haun wasn’t involved with the DPR takedown first hand, but she was very much involved with investigating rogue agents. At first, when she heard about the first rogue agent she took it with “a grain of salt” and actually said it was a shame the tipster was smearing a Federal agent’s good name. But the tipster was insistent and she decided to look into it. “We saw that this agent who we got the tip for was liquidating hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions a month, in cryptocurrency. So I thought it’s probably another undercover operation and there’s probably a legitimate explanation,” Haun explained. The Silk Road Investigation: A 'Pattern of Bad Behavior and Double Agents' >From left to right — Carl Mark Force, Shaun Bridges, and Curtis Green all played a ‘double agent’ role in the Silk Road investigation. Curtis Green was a Silk Road moderator who was told by the U.S. government to fake his own death. Haun concluded that the rogue agent was caught telling exchanges to destroy transaction histories. Because undercover agents who are running undercover operations shouldn’t be asking for evidence to be destroyed, it raised a red flag Haun said. Her team found a “pattern of really bad behavior to put it mildly” and in the end, it turned out the rogue agent was both online personas: French Maid and Death from Above. Essentially, the interview with Haun shows that Curtis Green, Shaun Bridges, and Carl Mark Force were acting as double agents during the entire investigation. The discussion with Haun further highlights how the Silk Road case was quite messy and many constitutional laws were broken by rogue agents in order to disrupt the site. Still, the U.S. government, with no thought toward constitutional law and a complete disregard for true justice, based all their Silk Road evidence on the shameful ethics of Curtis Green and two rogue cops — Carl Mark Force and Shaun Bridges. It goes to show that the many unanswered questions surrounding the case, like how government agents found the Silk Road’s IP address, which wasn’t due to a faulty ‘captcha’ screen as claimed, were likely due to perfidious agents gone rogue.

1 1

Re: [OpenRecords] Request FOIL-2023-056-15960 Acknowledged NYPD body cam footage, for NYCCoin Touting.)
by Gunnar Larson 19 Nov '24

19 Nov '24

Hello: Thank you for your Jul 16, 2023 response. xNY.io - Bank.org did not hear from you on November 29, 2023 as promised. Can xNY.io - Bank.org please receive the NYPD body cam footage for NYCCoin Touting by December 31, 2023? Warm regards, Gunnar Gunnar Larson -- Gunnar Larson - xNY.io - Bank.org MSc - Digital Currency MBA - Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ip) G(a)xNY.io +1-917-580-8053 New York, New York 10001 On Wed, Dec 6, 2023, 11:11 AM Gunnar Larson <g(a)xny.io> wrote: > Hello: > > Any updates on the body camera footage mentioned below? > > Gunnar > > Gunnar Larson > xNY.io - Bank.org > 917-580-8093 > > On Thu, Nov 16, 2023, 7:10 AM Gunnar Larson <g(a)xny.io> wrote: > >> Dear Madam or Sir: >> >> I am just confirming that the NYCCoin body camera footage is still on >> track for November 29, 2023 delivery. Can you confirm as such please? >> >> The matter was recorded late March 2023. And xNY.io - Bank.org must close >> our EOY-23 books. >> >> Any further delay of the body camera footage could be a challenge to N.Y. >> Executive Law, Article 15 >> Human Rights Law, § 296. Unlawful discriminatory practices: >> >> 14. ... whether or not accompanied by the >> person for whom the dog is being trained. >> >> 16. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice, unless specifically >> required or permitted by statute, for any person, agency, bureau, >> corporation or association, including the state and any political >> subdivision thereof, to make any inquiry about, whether in any form of >> application or >> otherwise, or to act upon adversely to the individual involved, any >> arrest or criminal accusation of such individual not then pending against >> that individual which was followed by a termination of that criminal action >> or proceeding in favor of such individual, as defined in subdivision two of >> section 160.50 of the criminal procedure law, or by an order adjourning >> the criminal action in contemplation of dismissal, pursuant to section >> 170.55, 170.56, 210.46, 210.47, or 215.10 of the criminal procedure law, or >> by a youthful offender adjudication, as defined in subdivision one of >> section 720.35 of the criminal procedure law, or by a conviction for a >> violation sealed pursuant to section 160.55 of the criminal procedure law >> or by a conviction which is sealed pursuant to section 160.59 or 160.58 of >> the criminal procedure law, in connection with the licensing, housing, >> employment, including volunteer positions, or providing of credit or >> insurance to such individual; provided, further, that no person shall be >> required to divulge information pertaining to any arrest or criminal >> accusation of such individual not then pending against that individual >> which was followed by a termination of that criminal action or proceeding >> in favor of such individual, as defined in subdivision two of section >> 160.50 of the criminal procedure law, or by an order adjourning the >> criminal action in contemplation of dismissal, pursuant to section 170.55, >> 170.56, 210.46, 210.47, or 215.10 of the criminal procedure law, or by a >> youthful offender adjudication, as defined in subdivision one of section >> 720.35 of the criminal procedure law, or by >> a conviction for a violation sealed pursuant to section 160.55 of the >> criminal procedure law, or by a conviction which is sealed pursuant to >> section 160.58 or 160.59 of the criminal procedure law. An individual >> required or requested to provide information in violation of this >> subdivision >> may respond as if the arrest, criminal accusation, or disposition of such >> arrest or criminal accusation did not occur. The provisions of this >> subdivision shall not apply to the licensing activities of governmental >> bodies in relation to the regulation of guns, firearms and other deadly >> weapons or in relation to an application for employment as a police officer >> or peace officer as those terms are defined in subdivisions thirty-three >> and thirty-four of section 1.20 of the criminal >> procedure law; provided further that the provisions of this subdivision >> shall not apply to an application for employment or membership in any law >> enforcement agency with respect to any arrest or criminal accusation which >> was followed by a youthful offender adjudication, as defined >> in subdivision one of section 720.35 of the criminal procedure law, or by >> a conviction for a violation sealed pursuant to section 160.55 of the >> criminal procedure law, or by a conviction which is sealed pursuant to >> section 160.58 or 160.59 of the criminal procedure law. For purposes of >> this subdivision, an action which has been adjourned in contemplation of >> dismissal, pursuant to section 170.55 or 170.56, 210.46, 210.47 or 215.10 >> of the criminal procedure law, shall not be >> considered a pending action, unless the order to adjourn in contemplation >> of dismissal is revoked and the case is restored to the calendar for >> further prosecution. >> >> Thank you, >> >> Gunnar >> >> Gunnar Larson >> xNY.io - Bank.org >> 917-580-8053 >> >> n, Jul 16, 2023, 11:03 AM IABCMDCNTR <IABCMDCNTR(a)nypd.org> wrote: >> >>> Mr. Larson, >>> >>> The FOIL request you requested was acknowledged and a response will be on >>> or about Wednesday, November 29, 2023. They will follow-up with your >>> request. If the request is denied, and you would like to file a complaint, >>> we will assist you. Have a good day. >>> >>> >>> >>> *COMMAND CENTER, INTERNAL AFFAIRS BUREAU * >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> This e-mail message and any attachment(s) is intended only for the >>> person and/or entity to which it is addressed and may contain CONFIDENTIAL >>> or PRIVILEGED material. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or >>> distribution is strictly prohibited and may violate applicable laws >>> including the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. If you are not the >>> intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and >>> delete/destroy all copies of the original message. If you are the intended >>> recipient but do not wish to receive communications through this medium, >>> please so advise the sender immediately. Please treat this and all other >>> communications from the New York City Police Department as LAW ENFORCEMENT >>> SENSITIVE / FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY. NO REPORT OR SEGMENT THEREOF MAY BE >>> RELEASED TO ANY MEDIA SOURCES. >>> >>> >>> ------------------------------ >>> *From:* Gunnar Larson <g(a)xny.io> >>> *Sent:* Sunday, July 16, 2023 10:56 AM >>> *To:* FDSHelpDesk(a)ethics.ny.gov <FDSHelpDesk(a)ethics.ny.gov>; >>> ethel(a)jcrope.ny.gov <ethel(a)jcrope.ny.gov>; IABCMDCNTR < >>> IABCMDCNTR(a)nypd.org> >>> *Cc:* letitia.james(a)ag.ny.gov <letitia.james(a)ag.ny.gov>; >>> cypherpunks(a)cpunks.org <cypherpunks(a)cpunks.org>; Harris, Adrienne A >>> (DFS) <Adrienne.Harris(a)dfs.ny.gov> >>> *Subject:* Fwd: [OpenRecords] Request FOIL-2023-056-15960 Acknowledged >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> *CAUTION! EXTERNAL SENDER* >>> >>> *STOP WHEN UNSURE.* Never click on links or open attachments if sender >>> is unknown, and never provide user ID or password. *Suspicious?* >>> Please report to this email address: reportphishing(a)nypd.org >>> >>> Dear New York Ethics Team: >>> >>> I am concerned that the FOIL below is subject to obstruction of justice. >>> >>> The FOIL request is for access to NYPD body cam footage, for NYCCoin >>> Touting. >>> >>> Ethics Team, I am concerned that the Chief of your office is also the >>> Chief of the City Mayor's office. >>> >>> The body cam footage should have an agreeable time for delivery. I am >>> concerned that the Mayor is retaliating against NYCoin and the NYPD may be >>> aware of this. >>> >>> The video would or would not delineate any form of unnecessary force. >>> The NYPD may be aware of this. >>> >>> Obviously, xNY is very protective of digital asset innovation. Ethics is >>> a serious matter and the body cam footage would be helpful concerning >>> NYCCoin. >>> >>> Sincerely yours, >>> >>> Gunnar >>> >>> Gunnar Larson >>> xNY.io - Bank.org >>> 917-580-8053 >>> >>> >>> ---------- Forwarded message --------- >>> From: <donotreply(a)records.nyc.gov> >>> Date: Fri, Jul 14, 2023, 12:25 PM >>> Subject: [OpenRecords] Request FOIL-2023-056-15960 Acknowledged >>> To: <g(a)xny.io> >>> >>> >>> The New York City Police Department (NYPD) has *acknowledged* your FOIL >>> request FOIL-2023-056-15960 >>> <https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/request/view/FOIL-2023-056-15960>. >>> >>> You can expect a response on or about Wednesday, November 29, 2023. >>> Additional Information: >>> >>> Your request has been assigned to PAA Quagliano (646-610-5296) >>> >>> >>> Please visit FOIL-2023-056-15960 >>> <https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/request/view/FOIL-2023-056-15960> to >>> view additional information and take any necessary action. >>> >>

1 6

Fwd: [OpenRecords] Request FOIL-2023-056-15960 Acknowledged NYPD body cam footage, for NYCCoin Touting.)
by Gunnar Larson 19 Nov '24

19 Nov '24

Dear Honorable Senator Gillibrand: My name is Gunnar Larson and I am a co-founder at xNY.io - Bank.org. Today I contact your esteemed office seeking assistance with retrieving the NYPD body camera footage mentioned below. The FOIL request was filed with the NYPD on July 14, 2023. The NYPD responded on July 16, 2023, noting a potential delivery date of the body camera footage by end of November 2023. As of today, January 12, 2024 xNY.io - Bank.org has not heard from the NYPD on receiving the body camera footage. Senator Gillibrand, I am concerned delay in receiving this body camera footage may disrespect your #MeToo zero tolerance policy. Humbly, the FBI should be able to confirm with your office if this is a "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" matter. Ultimately, I am concerned this matter should not impact the pure interests of your Lummis-Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act. The FBI should be able to be honest with your office concerning your Bloomberg Crypto Summit interview with Senator Lummis on the Responsible Financial Innovation Act. It is my understanding that the NYPD body camera footage could have been staged politically, given xNY's approach to NYCCoin. Senator Gillibrand, your office could offer anyone the opportunity to engage the new SDNY program here to protect honest integrity of the NYPD: https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-attorney-in-manhattan-launches-program-to-… . Thank you Senator Gillibrand. Sending you the very best regards, Gunnar -- Gunnar Larson xNY.io | Bank.org MSc - Digital Currency MBA - Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ip) G(a)xNY.io +1-917-580-8053 New York, New York 10001 ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Gunnar Larson <g(a)xny.io> Date: Wed, Jan 10, 2024, 5:36 AM Subject: Re: [OpenRecords] Request FOIL-2023-056-15960 Acknowledged NYPD body cam footage, for NYCCoin Touting.) To: IABCMDCNTR <IABCMDCNTR(a)nypd.org> Cc: <cypherpunks(a)cpunks.org>, ethics.sm.records <records(a)ethics.ny.gov>, < ethel(a)jcrope.ny.gov>, <letitia.james(a)ag.ny.gov>, Harris, Adrienne A (DFS) < Adrienne.Harris(a)dfs.ny.gov>, <PressOffice(a)cityhall.nyc.gov>, Reader, Shaun < sreader(a)curtis.com>, <district3(a)council.nyc.gov> Good morning NYPD: Thank you for your Jul 16, 2023 response. xNY.io - Bank.org did not hear from you on November 29, 2023 as promised. Given the emerging situation in USA cryptocurrency markets, we are going to need to follow up with the NYPD every 10 days until we receive the NYCCoin touting body camera footage. Can you please update xNY.io - Bank.org on the status of the footage? We have received various replies from the City of New York on Mayor Adams' 'first checks in Bitcoin' mentioned here: https://www.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/041-22/mayor-adams-receive-fir… . Have a good day. Thank you, Gunnar -- Gunnar Larson xNY.io | Bank.org MSc - Digital Currency MBA - Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ip) G(a)xNY.io +1-917-580-8053 New York, New York 10001 On Mon, Jan 1, 2024, 6:41 AM Gunnar Larson <g(a)xny.io> wrote: > Good morning: > > Happy New Year 2024 to you. > > Can we please have an update on this matter? > > Thank you, > > Gunnar > > -- > Gunnar Larson > xNY.io | Bank.org > MSc - Digital Currency > MBA - Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ip) > > G(a)xNY.io > +1-917-580-8053 > New York, New York 10001 > > > On Fri, Dec 15, 2023, 3:51 PM Gunnar Larson <g(a)xny.io> wrote: > >> Hello: >> >> Thank you for your Jul 16, 2023 response. >> >> xNY.io - Bank.org did not hear from you on >> November 29, 2023 as promised. >> >> Can xNY.io - Bank.org please receive the >> NYPD body cam footage for NYCCoin Touting by December 31, 2023? >> >> Warm regards, >> >> Gunnar >> >> Gunnar Larson >> -- >> Gunnar Larson - xNY.io - Bank.org >> MSc - Digital Currency >> MBA - Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ip) >> >> G(a)xNY.io >> +1-917-580-8053 >> New York, New York 10001 >> >> On Wed, Dec 6, 2023, 11:11 AM Gunnar Larson <g(a)xny.io> wrote: >> >>> Hello: >>> >>> Any updates on the body camera footage mentioned below? >>> >>> Gunnar >>> >>> Gunnar Larson >>> xNY.io - Bank.org >>> 917-580-8093 >>> >>> On Thu, Nov 16, 2023, 7:10 AM Gunnar Larson <g(a)xny.io> wrote: >>> >>>> Dear Madam or Sir: >>>> >>>> I am just confirming that the NYCCoin body camera footage is still on >>>> track for November 29, 2023 delivery. Can you confirm as such please? >>>> >>>> The matter was recorded late March 2023. And xNY.io - Bank.org must >>>> close our EOY-23 books. >>>> >>>> Any further delay of the body camera footage could be a challenge to >>>> N.Y. Executive Law, Article 15 >>>> Human Rights Law, § 296. Unlawful discriminatory practices: >>>> >>>> 14. ... whether or not accompanied by the >>>> person for whom the dog is being trained. >>>> >>>> 16. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice, unless >>>> specifically required or permitted by statute, for any person, agency, >>>> bureau, corporation or association, including the state and any political >>>> subdivision thereof, to make any inquiry about, whether in any form of >>>> application or >>>> otherwise, or to act upon adversely to the individual involved, any >>>> arrest or criminal accusation of such individual not then pending against >>>> that individual which was followed by a termination of that criminal action >>>> or proceeding in favor of such individual, as defined in subdivision two of >>>> section 160.50 of the criminal procedure law, or by an order adjourning >>>> the criminal action in contemplation of dismissal, pursuant to section >>>> 170.55, 170.56, 210.46, 210.47, or 215.10 of the criminal procedure law, or >>>> by a youthful offender adjudication, as defined in subdivision one of >>>> section 720.35 of the criminal procedure law, or by a conviction for a >>>> violation sealed pursuant to section 160.55 of the criminal procedure law >>>> or by a conviction which is sealed pursuant to section 160.59 or 160.58 of >>>> the criminal procedure law, in connection with the licensing, housing, >>>> employment, including volunteer positions, or providing of credit or >>>> insurance to such individual; provided, further, that no person shall be >>>> required to divulge information pertaining to any arrest or criminal >>>> accusation of such individual not then pending against that individual >>>> which was followed by a termination of that criminal action or proceeding >>>> in favor of such individual, as defined in subdivision two of section >>>> 160.50 of the criminal procedure law, or by an order adjourning the >>>> criminal action in contemplation of dismissal, pursuant to section 170.55, >>>> 170.56, 210.46, 210.47, or 215.10 of the criminal procedure law, or by a >>>> youthful offender adjudication, as defined in subdivision one of section >>>> 720.35 of the criminal procedure law, or by >>>> a conviction for a violation sealed pursuant to section 160.55 of the >>>> criminal procedure law, or by a conviction which is sealed pursuant to >>>> section 160.58 or 160.59 of the criminal procedure law. An individual >>>> required or requested to provide information in violation of this >>>> subdivision >>>> may respond as if the arrest, criminal accusation, or disposition of >>>> such arrest or criminal accusation did not occur. The provisions of this >>>> subdivision shall not apply to the licensing activities of governmental >>>> bodies in relation to the regulation of guns, firearms and other deadly >>>> weapons or in relation to an application for employment as a police officer >>>> or peace officer as those terms are defined in subdivisions thirty-three >>>> and thirty-four of section 1.20 of the criminal >>>> procedure law; provided further that the provisions of this subdivision >>>> shall not apply to an application for employment or membership in any law >>>> enforcement agency with respect to any arrest or criminal accusation which >>>> was followed by a youthful offender adjudication, as defined >>>> in subdivision one of section 720.35 of the criminal procedure law, or >>>> by a conviction for a violation sealed pursuant to section 160.55 of the >>>> criminal procedure law, or by a conviction which is sealed pursuant to >>>> section 160.58 or 160.59 of the criminal procedure law. For purposes of >>>> this subdivision, an action which has been adjourned in contemplation of >>>> dismissal, pursuant to section 170.55 or 170.56, 210.46, 210.47 or 215.10 >>>> of the criminal procedure law, shall not be >>>> considered a pending action, unless the order to adjourn in >>>> contemplation of dismissal is revoked and the case is restored to the >>>> calendar for further prosecution. >>>> >>>> Thank you, >>>> >>>> Gunnar >>>> >>>> Gunnar Larson >>>> xNY.io - Bank.org >>>> 917-580-8053 >>>> >>>> n, Jul 16, 2023, 11:03 AM IABCMDCNTR <IABCMDCNTR(a)nypd.org> wrote: >>>> >>>>> Mr. Larson, >>>>> >>>>> The FOIL request you requested was acknowledged and a response will be on >>>>> or about Wednesday, November 29, 2023. They will follow-up with your >>>>> request. If the request is denied, and you would like to file a complaint, >>>>> we will assist you. Have a good day. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> *COMMAND CENTER, INTERNAL AFFAIRS BUREAU * >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> This e-mail message and any attachment(s) is intended only for the >>>>> person and/or entity to which it is addressed and may contain CONFIDENTIAL >>>>> or PRIVILEGED material. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or >>>>> distribution is strictly prohibited and may violate applicable laws >>>>> including the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. If you are not the >>>>> intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and >>>>> delete/destroy all copies of the original message. If you are the intended >>>>> recipient but do not wish to receive communications through this medium, >>>>> please so advise the sender immediately. Please treat this and all other >>>>> communications from the New York City Police Department as LAW ENFORCEMENT >>>>> SENSITIVE / FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY. NO REPORT OR SEGMENT THEREOF MAY BE >>>>> RELEASED TO ANY MEDIA SOURCES. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> ------------------------------ >>>>> *From:* Gunnar Larson <g(a)xny.io> >>>>> *Sent:* Sunday, July 16, 2023 10:56 AM >>>>> *To:* FDSHelpDesk(a)ethics.ny.gov <FDSHelpDesk(a)ethics.ny.gov>; >>>>> ethel(a)jcrope.ny.gov <ethel(a)jcrope.ny.gov>; IABCMDCNTR < >>>>> IABCMDCNTR(a)nypd.org> >>>>> *Cc:* letitia.james(a)ag.ny.gov <letitia.james(a)ag.ny.gov>; >>>>> cypherpunks(a)cpunks.org <cypherpunks(a)cpunks.org>; Harris, Adrienne A >>>>> (DFS) <Adrienne.Harris(a)dfs.ny.gov> >>>>> *Subject:* Fwd: [OpenRecords] Request FOIL-2023-056-15960 Acknowledged >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> *CAUTION! EXTERNAL SENDER* >>>>> >>>>> *STOP WHEN UNSURE.* Never click on links or open attachments if >>>>> sender is unknown, and never provide user ID or password. >>>>> *Suspicious?* Please report to this email address: >>>>> reportphishing(a)nypd.org >>>>> >>>>> Dear New York Ethics Team: >>>>> >>>>> I am concerned that the FOIL below is subject to obstruction of >>>>> justice. >>>>> >>>>> The FOIL request is for access to NYPD body cam footage, for NYCCoin >>>>> Touting. >>>>> >>>>> Ethics Team, I am concerned that the Chief of your office is also the >>>>> Chief of the City Mayor's office. >>>>> >>>>> The body cam footage should have an agreeable time for delivery. I am >>>>> concerned that the Mayor is retaliating against NYCoin and the NYPD may be >>>>> aware of this. >>>>> >>>>> The video would or would not delineate any form of unnecessary force. >>>>> The NYPD may be aware of this. >>>>> >>>>> Obviously, xNY is very protective of digital asset innovation. Ethics >>>>> is a serious matter and the body cam footage would be helpful concerning >>>>> NYCCoin. >>>>> >>>>> Sincerely yours, >>>>> >>>>> Gunnar >>>>> >>>>> Gunnar Larson >>>>> xNY.io - Bank.org >>>>> 917-580-8053 >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> ---------- Forwarded message --------- >>>>> From: <donotreply(a)records.nyc.gov> >>>>> Date: Fri, Jul 14, 2023, 12:25 PM >>>>> Subject: [OpenRecords] Request FOIL-2023-056-15960 Acknowledged >>>>> To: <g(a)xny.io> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> The New York City Police Department (NYPD) has *acknowledged* your >>>>> FOIL request FOIL-2023-056-15960 >>>>> <https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/request/view/FOIL-2023-056-15960>. >>>>> >>>>> You can expect a response on or about Wednesday, November 29, 2023. >>>>> Additional Information: >>>>> >>>>> Your request has been assigned to PAA Quagliano (646-610-5296) >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Please visit FOIL-2023-056-15960 >>>>> <https://a860-openrecords.nyc.gov/request/view/FOIL-2023-056-15960> >>>>> to view additional information and take any necessary action. >>>>> >>>>

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Breaking News: Robinhood Rebrands as 'Libra'
by Gunnar Larson 17 Nov '24

17 Nov '24

With the news this week, from the archive: https://thecapital.io/article/breaking-news-robinhood-rebrands-as-libra---M… *Breaking News: Robinhood Rebrands as 'Libra'* SILICON VALLEY - Embroiled in the naturally malevolent evolutionary controversy of brand fakery <https://thecapital.io/article/robinhoods-brand-fake-vs-paypals-crypto-corru…> in the name of manipulating humanity, Robinhood Markets (a financial services company) rocked the brand marketing world by finally coming to its senses while vindicating Mr. Hood’s legacy. The company has distanced itself from the old Robinhood firm image of “we take advantage of our customers” with a fresh rebrand as ‘Libra.’ Celebrated humanitarian Richard Simmons applauded the name change. “Mr. Hood’s story of altruism is loved by young and old alike world-wide. Today Mr. Hood is vindicated from association to the former Robinhood’s tricky company shenanigans. The new ‘Libra’ image is a super smart act of serving our country well... I hope the all-stars at Bear Stearns will join me in congratulating the new ‘Libra’ brand,” Simmons said. *The nature and timing of the brand change raised eyebrows in New York, a recent familiar reaction to news from our pals <https://thecapital.io/article/robinhoods-brand-fake-vs-paypals-crypto-corru…> from the Valley.Gleefully contemplating the long term impact on society, this reporter touts the courage of the real Mr. Hood for opposing forces similar to that of the former Robinhood.* History will celebrate the newly minted Libra, which will be hailed for its valor in rebranding, even though it did so to escape the regulatory cloud that has hung over the Robinhood project since it first came into the public domain. (A Satirical Monograph on the News)

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Fwd: xNY.io - Bank.org, PBC | Memo #1 - The People?s Republic of China on ESG and D&O Innovation
by Gunnar Larson 14 Nov '24

14 Nov '24

---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Gunnar Larson <g(a)xny.io> Date: Wed, Jun 8, 2022, 2:12 PM Subject: xNY.io - Bank.org, PBC | Memo #1 - The People’s Republic of China on ESG and D&O Innovation To: <Adrienne.Harris(a)dfs.ny.gov> Cc: Weber, Richard (DFS) <Richard.weber(a)dfs.ny.gov>, Weintraub, Cathy (DFS) <Cathy.Weintraub(a)dfs.ny.gov>, Alexi Anania <a(a)xny.io> June 8, 2022 BY ELECTRONIC MAIL Superintendent, Adrienne A. Harris New York State Department of Financial Services One State Street New York, New York 10004 Adrienne.Harris(a)dfs.ny.gov Re: The People’s Republic of China on ESG and D&O Innovation Dear Madam Superintendent: xNY.io - Bank.org, PBC is proud to be under the esteemed oversight of your distinguished office. Today’s memo signals concern of recent ESG and D&O research published by Nanjing Audit University of the People’s Republic of China. The institution is operated under the auspices of the Jiangsu <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiangsu> Provincial Government, the National Audit Office of China <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Audit_Office_of_China> and the People's Bank of China <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Bank_of_China>. Kindly find the attached memo <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1THKGP530wiMOKurCd79mHSFfW6GvCrOJsRzyA_J…> addressed to your honorable attention. Respectfully yours, Gunnar Larson -- *Gunnar Larson * *xNY.io <http://www.xny.io/> - Bank.org <http://bank.org/>, PBC* MSc <https://www.unic.ac.cy/blockchain/msc-digital-currency/?utm_source=Google&u…> - Digital Currency MBA <https://www.unic.ac.cy/business-administration-entrepreneurship-and-innovat…> - Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ip) G(a)xNY.io +1-646-454-9107 New York, New York 10001 June 8, 2022 BY ELECTRONIC MAIL Superintendent, Adrienne A. Harris New York State Department of Financial Services One State Street New York, New York 10004 Adrienne.Harris(a)dfs.ny.gov Re: The People’s Republic of China on ESG and D&O Innovation Dear Madam Superintendent: xNY.io - Bank.org, PBC is proud to be under the esteemed oversight of your distinguished office. Today’s memo signals concern of recent ESG and D&O research published by Nanjing Audit University of the People’s Republic of China. The institution is operated under the auspices of the Jiangsu <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiangsu> Provincial Government, the National Audit Office of China <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Audit_Office_of_China> and the People's Bank of China <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Bank_of_China>. xNY.io - Bank.org, PBC is concerned that the Nanjing Audit University and the People’s Bank of China potentially could be mis-representing intent related to ESG and D&O innovation, at the expense of our global enterprise. 1. According to the Council on Forign Relations, China is the world’s top emitter, producing more than a quarter of the world’s annual greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to climate change. 2. Nanjing Audit University’s “theoretical analysis and hypothesis developments” suggest that the People’s Republic of China is embryonic in the enforcement of ESG and/or D&O mandates. Meanwhile, suggesting Bloomberg as a reputational capital. 3. xNY.io - Bank.org, PBC has collated 37 highlights to Nanjing Audit University’s ESG and D&O research for NY-DFS consideration. As a Bill and Melinda Gates Scholar and Blockchain Scholar holding international law distinction(s) My international graduate research has touched on Western profit of China’s water resources. xNY.io - Bank.org, PBC seeks to protect pure New York State ESG and D&O innovation. Madam Superindnet, we attentively recognize you are the world’s most powerful regulatory leader in this regard. >From this humble perspective, xNY.io - Bank.org, PBC seeks to earn your respect and consideration to explore the New York False Claims Act as a potential channel. xNY.io - Bank.org, PBC hopes New York State welcomes this assessment at the liberty of your honorable office. Respectfully yours, Gunnar Larson | xNY.io <http://www.xny.io> - Bank.org <http://bank.org>, PBC MSc <https://www.unic.ac.cy/blockchain/msc-digital-currency/?utm_source=Google&u…> - Digital Currency MBA <https://www.unic.ac.cy/business-administration-entrepreneurship-and-innovat…> - Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ip) G(a)xNY.io +1-646-454-9107 CC: Mr. Richard Webber

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Women Today vs. Apartheid timeline | Africa – Gulf News
by Gunnar Larson 07 Nov '24

07 Nov '24

The UN Secretary-General recently said it would take 300 more years (to year 2323) for Women to reach full rights globally. 300 years sounds like the UN will not meet any of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Yet, look at Apartheid... https://gulfnews.com/world/africa/apartheid-timeline-1.1994303 Apartheid timeline A look at the rise and fall of the racial segregation system in South Africa Published: March 15, 2017 21:13 Compiled by Aishwarya Shukla, Special to Gulf News 1948 — Policy of apartheid (segregation on a racial basis) implemented when National Party (NP) comes to power. 1949- Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act passed. 1950 — The Population Registration Act demands all South Africans be registered according to their racial group: White, Black or Coloured. (According to this act, Indians fell under the Coloured category). Group Areas Act passed to residentially segregate blacks and whites. Communist Party banned. African National Congress (ANC) protests with campaign of civil disobedience, led by Nelson Mandela. 1960 — Sharpeville massacre: Police shooting at peaceful demonstrators, against laws for Africans, in Sharpeville: 69 men, women and children were killed and about 200 wounded. ANC is banned. 1961 — South Africa withdraws from the Commonwealth and proclaims itself a Republic. 1963- Mandela leads ANC’s new military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe, which launches sabotage campaign against government. 1960s — International pressure against government intensifies. United Nations (UN) calls on nations to stop sale and shipment of arms and equipment until apartheid is abolished. South Africa excluded from Olympic Games. 1964 — Rivonia trial- Mandela and other ANC members sentenced to life imprisonment. 1966 — Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd assassinated. 1970s — Bantu Homeland Citizenship Act (1970) passed. More than 3 million people forcibly resettled in black ‘homelands’. 1974- South Africa expelled from the UN because of apartheid. 1976 — More than 600 killed in violent clashes between black protesters and security forces during uprising which starts in Soweto. Head of Soweto Student Representative Council (SSRC) and Black consciousness leader Steve Biko killed in police custody. 1978 — P.W. Botha, outspoken apartheid supporter, replaces John Vorster as Prime Minister. 1984-89 — Township uprising (1984-5), state of emergency. 1989 — F.W. de Klerk replaces PW Botha as president, meets Mandela. Public facilities desegregated. Many ANC activists freed. 1990 — ANC ban is lifted. Mandela released after 27 years in prison. Namibia becomes independent. 1991 — Multi party talks begin. De Klerk repeals remaining apartheid laws, international sanctions lifted. Major fighting between ANC and Zulu Inkatha movement. 1992- A referendum on ending apartheid held in South Africa on March 17, 1992. The referendum is limited to white South African voters. 1993 — New interim constitution establishing a democratic system of one person one vote. F.W. de Klerk and his successor, Mandela, win the Nobel Peace Prize for peaceful dialogue, negotiation and their joint effort to bring an end to the policy of racial segregation. 1994 — ANC wins first democratic elections. Mandela becomes president, Government of National Unity formed, Commonwealth membership restored, remaining international sanctions lifted. South Africa returns to UN General Assembly after 20 years. 1996 — Truth and Reconciliation Commission chaired by Archbishop Desmond Tutu begins hearings on human rights abuses committed during the apartheid era by former government and liberation movements. Quotes: Nelson Mandela at the Rivonia trial (April 20, 1964): “During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society, in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” Nelson Mandela in June 1980: “Between the anvil of united mass action and the hammer of the armed struggle we shall crush apartheid and white minority racist rule.” Steve Biko: “The most potent weapon of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.” “Apartheid- both petty and grand- is obviously evil. Nothing can justify the arrogant assumption that a clique of foreigners has the right to decide on the lives of a majority.” Bishop Desmond Tutu, speech 1985. “We don’t want apartheid liberalised. We want it dismantled. You can’t improve something that is intrinsically evil. F.W. Klerk: “The question that we must ask is whether we are making progress toward the goal of universal peace. Or are we caught up on the treadmill of history, turning forever on the axle of mindless aggression and self-destruction.” —

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Re: Bank.org Concern of BitLicense Marketplace Manipulation
by Gunnar Larson 30 Oct '24

30 Oct '24

While xNY.io - Bank.org was blowing the wistle, what was happening, FBI? Literally, most of this could have been avoided. When it comes to honesty the Brody of Wall Street reminds you that the truth is so important. PYUSD did not just fall from the sky. And if it takes a new Superintendent, it takes a new Superintendent then. We were not blowing the wistle for the award, FBI. We were blowing the wistle for the protections and since July 25, 2021 you know how we have been treating. Water under the bridge. xNY.io - Bank.org is doing better than ever. However, the FBI cannot accuse us of using Donald Trump RICO arguments against New York State. That would be silly. In other news, on its own who thinks xNY.io is going to be tricked by X.com and Xoom.com? ----- July 25, 2021 BY ELECTRONIC MAIL United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) 14420 Albemarle Point Place Suite 102 Chantilly, VA 20151-1750 ATTN: SEC TCR SUBMISSIONS Re: Bank.org Concern of BitLicense Marketplace Manipulation Dear Sir or Madam: Virtual currency fraud is a serious problem for such a developed country as the United States, whose bank regulators have drawn attention to the increase of these crimes. Having discovered that an unregulated virtual currency sphere (such as in Africa, or other developing markets) is very popular among virtual currency fraudsters, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NY-DFS) concluded that this kind of regulatory fraud was threatening U.S. national security. Bank.org’s NY-DFS Shelf Charter application journey has prompted us to contact the SEC with concern of common Directors at Facebook and PayPal (incl. Xoom) who have potentially manipulated the New York State Common Retirement Fund and New York State Teachers Retirement Fund through BitLicense marketplace manipulation tactics and computer crimes. Bank.org's key definition of virtual currency computer crimes is a consistent message across markets. These crimes are relatively new, having been in existence for only as long as Bitcoin has—which explains how unprepared society and the world, in general, is towards combating these crimes. We see this as no fault of NY-DFS and the original BitLicense mandate. Facebook and PayPal along with Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo have leveraged BitLicensee connections to profit daily from virtual currency market manipulation structures with cross-border reach. PayPal's “Conditional BitLicense” may now be employed as a marketplace manipulation instrument. Meanwhile, common Directors at Facebook, PayPal (incl. Xoom) and Diem seemingly have collaborated in orchestrating a virtual currency marketplace manipulation exercise. The New York State Common Retirement Fund and New York State Teachers Retirement Fund are significant investors in Facebook, PayPal, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo. >From their California headquarters, Directors at PayPal (incl. Xoom) have potentially leveraged a Conditional BitLicense award in collaboration with common Directors at Facebook to engage in marketplace manipulation techniques. The Diem Association further shares common PayPal and Facebook Directors in a potential chain of virtual currency computer software and market manipulation architectures. Bank.org must take the necessary steps to guard against fraud and to be extra vigilant about manipulation. We seek SEC guidance on the aforementioned concerns as we organize a reputable Board of Directors for NY-DFS approval. Respectfully yours with appreciation, Gunnar Larson - xNY.io | Bank.org MSc - Digital Currency MBA - Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ip) G(a)xNY.io +1-646-454-9107

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xNY.io | Palantir Technologies Board of Directors - Securities Fraud and Computer Crimes
by Gunnar Larson 27 Oct '24

27 Oct '24

Dear Palantir Board of Directors: You have yet to respond to xNY.io’s February 8, 2022 memo concerning <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Oej5gM5wuftu68eVkXTR4wWqoHREP2zg3nwlH1H…> a reasonable request for the resignation of Mr. Peter Thiel from the Board of Directors of your esteemed organization. Making matters worse, Palantir’s Board of Directors failed to respond to xNY.io’s February 18, 2022 memo urging <https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NMs-8HFD_Rrnkw4ePUhQSvJSGwhU70F9/view?usp=…> Palantir’s Board of Directors to act in resonance with the law. - Today’s correspondence <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cRuyS6IUS-8j8yKjOvs7Mx1V85zbMGfg6hyV6g2…> (memo attached) mints xNY.io’s overall concern of being victim to Palantir’s Board of Directors conspiracy to commit Computer Crimes and Securities Fraud. - xNY.io has made 185 highlights to the Prosecuting Computer Crimes Manual <https://drive.google.com/file/d/11tbgHgDg8qagomO-NBffvIFpxXKmBC3g/view?usp=…>, issued by the DOJ Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section Criminal Section. - xNY.io has made 85 highlights to the FDIC’s Office of Inspector General’s investigation <https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mTHY9KMc6pK9T-brBhweEJlWfbka0fTg/view?usp=…> outlining Palantir’s Board of Director’s likely exploiting vulnerabilities in your system to conduct malicious cyber activities. - xNY.io now has logical concern of active Securities Fraud <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Securities_fraud> sponsored by Palantir’s Board of directors that may be a threat to xNY.io’s international enterprise (chart detail attached). Seemingly, Meta’s Board of Directors (FB) embody xNY.io’s similar, logical approach. How would you like to proceed? Warm regards, Gunnar Larson -- *Gunnar Larson - xNY.io <http://www.xNY.io> | Bank.org <http://Bank.org>* MSc <https://www.unic.ac.cy/blockchain/msc-digital-currency/?utm_source=Google&u…> - Digital Currency MBA <https://www.unic.ac.cy/business-administration-entrepreneurship-and-innovat…> - Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ip) G(a)xNY.io +1-646-454-9107 New York, New York 10001 ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Gunnar Larson <g(a)xny.io> Date: Fri, Feb 18, 2022 at 3:45 PM Subject: Re: Imploration of Peter Thiel Resignation, Palantir Technologies Board of Directors To: <Investors(a)palantir.com>, <investor(a)fb.com> Cc: cypherpunks <cypherpunks(a)lists.cpunks.org> Dear Palantir Board Members: xNY.io seeks Palantir's immediate response on the extremely reasonable and overall logical request regarding Mr. Thiel, alleviating any co-conspiracy concerns of your directorate. We are tracking Palantir's Board now behind the reasonable 02/14/22 deadline at the expense of xNY.io (given our general perception of xNY.io related files being hosted on your platform). - Humbly, Palantir's Board may want to assure the United States that Palantir's Board is not sponsoring the next Cambridge Analytica. - Furthermore, xNY.io is designed <https://xny.io/whitepaper>to sidestep such unnecessary circumstances - xNY.io points to the New York Post's report <https://nypost.com/2021/08/25/fbi-palantir-glitch-allowed-unauthorized-acce…> on a "glitch" in Palantir's system allowing Cambridge Analytica type access to private data. *Make no mistake, it is not xNY.io's fault if Mr. Thiel is potentially sacrificing the purity of Palantir's Board.* What does Palantir have to lose in doing the right thing here? xNY.io further hints that it is not our overall problem if Palantir's Directorship wishes to self-destruct against scientific law <https://xny.io/> (aka modern logic). History provides the epic example <https://thecapital.io/article/directorates-who-discredit-truthful-witnesses…> of Enron and a cunning Board of Directors of misleaders, a team of flimflam artists who used sly rhetorical skills to bamboozle the public, turning night into day. In this conception, directorates tell stories only in order to seduce and beguile regulators who fall prey to the advocate’s star-crossed tricks. - Potentially best said by Senator John Mccain, “And the persons who ultimately are harmed by all of this, of course, is the average consumer, the average citizen, who has no knowledge, unless it paid attention to this hearing, of the extent of the manipulations that have been carried out by the largest financial institutions in America and, indeed, probably the world.” Forgive the efficient, yet candid locker room talk above. We are not saying Palantir's Board is crooked. But, you can imagine xNY.io's next correspondence should not be necessary. Very respectfully yours, Gunnar Larson -- *Gunnar Larson - xNY.io <http://www.xny.io/> | Bank.org <http://bank.org/>* MSc <https://www.unic.ac.cy/blockchain/msc-digital-currency/?utm_source=Google&u…> - Digital Currency MBA <https://www.unic.ac.cy/business-administration-entrepreneurship-and-innovat…> - Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ip) G(a)xNY.io +1-646-454-9107 New York, New York 10001 On Tue, Feb 8, 2022 at 5:20 PM Gunnar Larson <g(a)xny.io> wrote: > Dear Palantir Board of Directors: > > Today’s memo implores > <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Oej5gM5wuftu68eVkXTR4wWqoHREP2zg3nwlH1H…> > the resignation of Mr. Peter Thiel from the Board of Directors of your > esteemed organization. > > - > > Reasonable expectations support this resignation on or before Monday > February 14, 2022 at Noon EST. > - > > Failure in the resolution of the resignation concerned may be a threat > to xNY.io’s international enterprise (detailed below). > - > > Simple logic behind our request coincides with the February 7, 2022, > 4:07 PM EST > <https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-07/peter-thiel-to-leave-met…> > Bloomberg News report of Mr. Thiel’s resignation from Meta’s Board of > Directors. Bloomberg cited that Mr. Thiel plans to explore political > endeavors that perhaps would be a conflict of interest to sacred Board > Director entitlement responsibilities. > > > Kindly find the attached memo addressed to the attention of Palantir's > Board of Directors. > > Respectfully yours, > > Gunnar Larson > -- > *Gunnar Larson - xNY.io <http://www.xny.io/> | Bank.org <http://bank.org/>* > MSc > <https://www.unic.ac.cy/blockchain/msc-digital-currency/?utm_source=Google&u…> - > Digital Currency > MBA > <https://www.unic.ac.cy/business-administration-entrepreneurship-and-innovat…> - Entrepreneurship > and Innovation (ip) > > G(a)xNY.io > +1-646-454-9107 > New York, New York 10001 >

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