Adultvest: current news

[EmporerEJ]

Porn Hedge Fund Founder Refutes Fraud Claims
April 8, 2009
Francis KoenigIs last year’s most provocative hedge fund launch just another fraud?

Sources close to AdultVest Inc., which manages the Priapus Investment Fund, an adult entertainment hedge and private equity fund, say that it is spending investor money on more than just investments, and that what investments there are don’t account for the returns it claims. A former investor says that founder Francis Koenig is looting the fund to pay for fine art, expensive wines, cars, personal trips and alimony. Meanwhile, a former employee tells FINalternatives “there was no capital being generated” during his time at the firm.

“There is almost no money left in the fund,” the investor, who said he was privy to some of AdultVest’s financials via a court order, alleges. “Koenig has an American Express black card through the company that he uses on partying, girls and high living. Most money is missing and iPorn.com is not worth what he says it is.”

“It just seems to me the whole time I was there that there was no capital being generated,” says the former employee, who left the firm last year because he felt uncomfortable working in an office shrouded with mystery. “And it seemed like money was being spent for things that didn’t need to be bought like cars, clothes and trips,” he adds.

Koenig calls those claims “absolutely ridiculous” and “slanderous.”

“There’s one investor in our fund who has put himself in a tough financial position and he’s nervous about all of his investments, and not just this one,” Koenig tells FINalternatives. “If it’s the guy I’m thinking of, he wanted to redeem capital form the fund, but the fund has deployed the money already. As far as where I spend my personal money, that’s completely separate from the fund. I do use an AmEx black card to do purchases but that is separate and apart from the fund. I take home a paycheck and I can spend that paycheck however I want to spend it.”

Both sources also question Beverly Hills, Calif.-based AdultVest’s returns.

The former employee alleges that Koenig spent investors’ money on buying domain names such as iporn.com and handjob.com, and shares in a strip club operator, VCG Holdings Corp., which has allegedly produced a 60% loss. Last June, AdultVest announced the acquisition of iporn.com and laid out plans to create an online adult entertainment platform.

“Between the two domains and VCG, I don’t know what else he spent investors’ money on. There were companies under the fund’s umbrella, but those were his companies that he started. I started putting two and two together and smelled a rat,” he says.

“Priapus’ only asset is iPorn.com, which cost about $250,000, yet $3 million is missing,’ the former investor says. The investor also alleges that a related firm, Adultvest Events, a conference company that seeks to bring investors and adult industry insiders together, did no business, and that all of its cash was stolen.

Koenig counters that iporn.com is “doing really well,” contrary to online reports that the company has closed its offices in Beverly Hills and that AdultVest went through some $3.5 million of investors money in a two-year period.

The AdultVest founder has been quoted saying that Priapus, which was named Institutional Investor’s best hedge fund launch of the year in 2008, gained 50% last year. But he says he was simply misquoted by the Atlantic Monthly.

“We have not reported a 50% gain to anyone, including our investors,” he claims. “The fund had stopped taking capital at the $50,000 per unit and it raised the price to $75,000 per unit based on the fund’s progress and the investments that it had made. So we increased the per unit buy-in price by 50%.”

Meanwhile, the former AdultVest employee paints a grim picture of life at the firm.

“Everyone got paid their salaries, but I was trying to figure out how all of these salaries were being paid, and at one point I was told that it was being individually funded,” the former employee says. “It was a small office and there was a lot of talk and I just didn’t feel like I needed to be around that.”

The former employee, who says there were about 11 employees when he worked at the firm, claims that some of the few remaining staff members, including a secretary and the firm’s Web site manager, have had their salaries halved because the firm is running out of money. He also says that they are only coming into the office once or twice a week.

“In my opinion, this guy raised money to start a company, to live a lifestyle he wasn’t accustomed to,” he says.

..............

As reported here:

http://www.finalternatives.com/node/7519




My spidey senses are tingling......

[pornlaw]

Let the countdown begin.....

[EmporerEJ]

Originally Posted by pornlaw

Let the countdown begin.....

Yea, and it really kind of pisses me off.
It would have been nice to have a REAL investment capital pool available to adult industry people.

The things we could do.......

[EmporerEJ]

Has anyone Noticed Adultvest's site is still down?
And what happened to their "big investment" in Handjob.com?
It goes to some site mill now?

And more importantly to the viewers here, does anyone care?

[pornlaw]

Francis is gone and out of the business.... the domains and most of the company's assests that were left were "returned" to the investor(s)....

[gonzo]

Originally Posted by pornlaw

Francis is gone and out of the business.... the domains and most of the company's assests that were left were "returned" to the investor(s)....

Who didnt see that one coming?

[EmporerEJ]

Originally Posted by pornlaw

Francis is gone and out of the business.... the domains and most of the company's assests that were left were "returned" to the investor(s)....

Wow, what a surprise......
I guess we know how long it takes to burn through a few mill.

And now the rest of us legit business people must live with the further stain he left. I hope someone gets control of that domain, and posts the facts for the world. So that future potential investors see he was nothing but a loser from the other side coming over to our world and have some fun, at others' expense.

But it makes it that much more difficult for the rest of us to attract investment capital.

[EmporerEJ]

Originally Posted by pornlaw

Francis is gone and out of the business.... the domains and most of the company's assests that were left were "returned" to the investor(s)....

How long ago did this go down?
I haven't seen any stories about it?
Either in the "legit" media, or the adult industry.

[softball]

Originally Posted by EmporerEJ

Has anyone Noticed Adultvest's site is still down?
And what happened to their "big investment" in Handjob.com?
It goes to some site mill now?

And more importantly to the viewers here, does anyone care?

Nope..why would I?

[pornlaw]

Originally Posted by EmporerEJ

How long ago did this go down?
I haven't seen any stories about it?
Either in the "legit" media, or the adult industry.

A couple of months ago.. I really dont know all the details just what I have said so far...Wish I did though... I never liked Francis. Douche...

[EmporerEJ]

Originally Posted by pornlaw

A couple of months ago.. I really dont know all the details just what I have said so far...Wish I did though... I never liked Francis. Douche...

Yea, I knew I didn't like him when he called me to yell at me for a comment I had responded to in Xbiz, or AVN, or somewhere about my opinion of the company. Actually had someone call and say "Can you hold for Mr....."

I was.....okeee dokee, that's all I needed to know.

It wasn't even a bad comment, it was just a "I'm waiting to hear from someone whom has had success from them...." kind of comment.

And I specifically remember trying to be neutral when I MADE the comment, as i genuinely hoped we were getting some legit investment capital in this industry.

[ed_dolten]

Originally Posted by pornlaw

Francis is gone and out of the business.... the domains and most of the company's assets that were left were "returned" to the investor(s)....

I made the mistake of investing money with Francis. I wish my due diligence had uncovered this message board. I would never have answered his phone calls. When I searched on his name, all I came up with the the self-serving BS about this great hedge-fund background.

He tried to sell iporn.com in October, but I don't think he was able to get the deal done. I think one of his investors managed to take over the operation. The iporn.com site changed a few days later, but I don't know who controls it.

I haven't been contacted about my investment. From what I hear, I doubt that there is any chance of recovering anything.

Ed

[EmporerEJ]

Originally Posted by ed_dolten

I made the mistake of investing money with Francis. I wish my due diligence had uncovered this message board. I would never have answered his phone calls. When I searched on his name, all I came up with the the self-serving BS about this great hedge-fund background.

He tried to sell iporn.com in October, but I don't think he was able to get the deal done. I think one of his investors managed to take over the operation. The iporn.com site changed a few days later, but I don't know who controls it.

I haven't been contacted about my investment. From what I hear, I doubt that there is any chance of recovering anything.

Ed

And that's exactly what pisses me off. That's why the adult industry can't attract legitimate investment capital for Research & Development.
It's bad enough when the slime in our own industry rip people off, but worse when so called "legitimate" people come over to "start a fund," and turn out to be worse thieves than the slime people in the industry.

I just hope the few people left out there in the investment world realize, not everyone in our industry are thieves. There are still legitimate investment vehicles here.

[gonzo]

Originally Posted by ed_dolten

I made the mistake of investing money with Francis. I wish my due diligence had uncovered this message board. I would never have answered his phone calls. When I searched on his name, all I came up with the the self-serving BS about this great hedge-fund background.

He tried to sell iporn.com in October, but I don't think he was able to get the deal done. I think one of his investors managed to take over the operation. The iporn.com site changed a few days later, but I don't know who controls it.

I haven't been contacted about my investment. From what I hear, I doubt that there is any chance of recovering anything.

Ed

Did he tell you how much he liked cream pies?

Id love to hear your stories about this weasel and maybe do an interview . Rumor has it hes out running yet another scam on this business.

[ed_dolten]

Businessweek still has info about adultvest in its research section listing Koenig as CEO. However, the adultvest.com site is no longer available.

I would be interested in any information on legal actions regarding adultvest or related investments.

Ed

[EmporerEJ]

Originally Posted by gonzo

Did he tell you how much he liked cream pies?

Id love to hear your stories about this weasel and maybe do an interview . Rumor has it hes out running yet another scam on this business.

As would I.