UPDATE AT 9:57am Tuesday:
This story has turned out to be FACT. Full story is here.
This morning hangletonweblogs received an unconfirmed report about Butterfly Labs stating that the company had been raided by the US Marshal’s Service in addition to the FTC.
A post also was created on Bitcoin Talk from a user reporting to be a former employee of the company who was receiving information from others.
This post along with a thread posted on /r/bitcoin on reddit has led to rampant speculation to the validity of the claims.
hangletonweblogs has been in contact with the US Marshals Service this morning and early afternoon in Kansas that would be directly responsible for this raid and received an official word that none of the agents operating out of the District of Kansas offices and were told via the telephone that from several agents including the head of the office,
None of our agents at this time are involved in any field operations about Butterfly Labs. We are not typically involved in cases with other agencies such as the FTC unless ordered by a judge and those orders come very rarely baring some sort of illegal drug activities.
hangletonweblogs reached out to the FTC who stated via the public information offices on Monday at 2:25pm the following:
At this time we are unable to respond to this story or any court ordered actions that may have been issued in regards to this company for the date given. If and when this changes an official statement will be provided to your organization.
On Tuesday morning the FTC changed gears and reissued a new statement stating:
“We often see that when a new and little-understood opportunity like Bitcoin presents itself, scammers will find ways to capitalize on the public’s excitement and interest,” said Jessica Rich, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “We’re pleased the court granted our request to halt this operation, and we look forward to putting the company’s ill-gotten gains back in the hands of consumers.”
This story will be updated as more information becomes available and via our Twitter: @CoinFireBlog
Image courtesy of BTC Keychain