Andre Yoskowitz
6 Jun 2010 22:47
TF has put out a bio on file-sharing giant MegaUpload's owner Kim Schmitz, and it is apparently very lucrative to own the site.
Schmitz, who has been convicted in the past of insider trading, computer fraud and embezzlement, has just purchased New Zealand's most expensive home, for $20 million USD.
"Kimble," as he is sometimes referred to, was born in 1974, and by 1998 had been given two year's probation for hacking into corporate networks. In 2001, Schmitz scammed stock traders by announcing he would invest 50 million euro in the verge-of-bankruptcy company Letsbuyit.com, although he did not have the money to do so. He did, however, hold hundreds of thousands of shares at a low price. The scam netted Kimble $1.5 million in profits, and an insider-trading conviction a year later.
Schmitz has also pulled multiple PR stunts such as faking his own death and offering $10 million for the capture of Osama Bin Laden. He has also admitted to bribing police officers, driving at 240 km/h on public roads in Belgium, and even smashing a friends car off the road during a race.
Kimble owns a Rolls-Royce Phantom with the license plate GOD.
It will be interesting to see how long the record labels and movie studios let Schmitz continue his high-rolling days.