July 4th, 2009
Biofuel fraud exposes some big names
A court has awarded over $10-million in damages for fraud perpetrated by Cello, a biofuel company. If you’ve read Anthony Trollope’s THE WAY WE LIVE NOW you could have predicted something like this. Scams are as old as the stock market. If you follow any current headlines you know any innovation or investment trend is quickly seized upon by a Worldcom, an Enron, a Bernie Madoff. Biofuel is so promising. And one thing it promises: scam artists.
Among the names connected to Cello: Vinod Khosla, a Silicon valley VC who’s supported several biofuel start-ups. It was recently reported that Khosla put over 12-million into the firm though it was NOT listed on his VC firm’s website. Can he get a refund?
The head of Cello? Why it was Alabama’s former state ethics chairman, Jack Boykin. He and his son founded the firm. It was supposed to use feedstock from a nearby pulp plant to make ethanol. Now any politician who claims to be ethical…reach for your wallet. According to court testimony in the case Boykin managed to stampede Khosla into investing without “due dilligence.”
A newsman since 1969, Harry Fuller has worked for CBS, ABC, CNBC Europe, CNET and was founding news director at TechTV. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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