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bountysource / core

Bountysource is the funding platform for open-source software.
https://www.bountysource.com/
MIT License
630 stars 187 forks source link

[CRITICAL] Bountysource is Insolvent, do not use! #1586

Open ghost opened 1 year ago

ghost commented 1 year ago

Main Action

Bounty-Issuers

Activate your Paypal Buyer Protection (if payed within last 180 days), see https://github.com/bountysource/core/issues/1586#issuecomment-1703675937

Bounty-Workers

Criminal Liability

Summary.

one can safely assume that bountysource/Blockchain Group embezzles the escrowed bounty funds (e.g. using the money somewhere else, like investing/loosing-it in crypto etc.).

Action is necessary in order to avoid loss of funds.

Your Possible Actions

Important to realize

This is an abuse of the escrow, essentially an embezzlement.

There are thousands of $ in open bounties (e.g. from IBM), this is really becoming strange here.

Bountysource People

CEO

People

https://github.com/orgs/bountysource/people

~@rappo~ ~@Cervator~

On the main videos on website:

@FrancescoBorzi

Company

Bountysource Inc. 548 Market Street #40189, San Francisco, CA 94104-5401

Parent Company

Regulators

dfpi, USA

Possibly:

https://dfpi.ca.gov/

Possible Complaint

French Financial Authorities

(received via email)

I suggest that you contact the French Financial Authorities through their official "whistle blowing" portal:

https://www.amf-france.org/en/forms-and-declarations/whistleblowing https://www.amf-france.org/fr/formulaires-et-declarations/lanceur-dalerte-0

and report that The Blockchain Group cannot pay their financial obligations.

That's the regulatory body for The Blockchain Group.

Unpaid

Further Issues

Special Case:

@FrancescoBorzi is complaining about Bountysource here:

Today, he has a role within bountysource (see videos) :

https://bountysource.com/

But bountysource still abuses/embezzles the escrowed funds.

davidebeatrici commented 1 year ago

1539

thesquash commented 1 year ago

Please add my case to your list:

https://github.com/bountysource/core/issues/1591

This is a serious problem. I'm not exactly a rich man, and I'm going to have to find another way to help pay to feed myself. I wish the best for all others in my situation!

parvit commented 1 year ago

Hi, please add these bounties to the list, they were collected but not cashedout (even though the request is pending all the way from march):

kibix commented 1 year ago

ouch. maybe we should put up a bounty to bring them to justice and finance a law suit

balupton commented 1 year ago

Make sure in your PayPal resolution centre, you view each dispute and escalate to PayPal, otherwise all the seller needs to do is ignore the dispute and the case is closed without resolution.

https://www.paypal.com/disputes/

CleanShot 2023-09-02 at 11 34 42@2x

Here is the message I sent

Seller is insolvent, so unable to respond and unable to stop collecting funds. Hence need for PayPal to intervene, issue refunds, and block the seller.

Summary of the situation here:
https://github.com/bountysource/core/issues/1586

Listing of complaints here:
https://github.com/bountysource/core/issues
ghost commented 1 year ago

They are old members. The first one was a cofounder.

Still listed as "members", so they have some admin rights => they can act.

this french tbg company has no shame.

Possibly shutting down their paypal so they can't get more money in could do something.

rappo commented 1 year ago

They are old members. The first one was a cofounder.

Still listed as "members", so they have some admin rights => they can act.

@abebeos , I'm sorry you're having issues. I'm merely listed as a member on GitHub with no other roles or access, and even if I did I would be unable to help because payments are not processed through GitHub. I'll say this publicly for transparency, but I have just manually removed myself from the organization (something that should have happened many years ago, but no one ever bothered). Cervator is also an old member and there's no use in bothering him.

image

It's true I'm one of the cofounders, but the company has changed hands more than once since then and I have no information about the current owners other than what is publicly known. Again, I'm sorry you're having payment issues. Back in the day I personally handled all payments on my own time, even when I had other full-time obligations, because I believed in the platform. Hopefully the new team responds and resolves your issues quickly.

ghost commented 1 year ago

Back in the day I personally handled all payments on my own time, even when I had other full-time obligations,

Oh my, the usual bountysource tenor. Like they (you) do/did us a favor (they don't, they get 10%).

I would be unable to help

You could have helped, e.g. by adding a note on the repository readme's.

but I have just manually removed myself from the organization (something that should have happened many years ago, but no one ever bothered).

All good, possibly the best action.

ghost commented 1 year ago

@Cervator, before you (possibly) leave the bountysource github organization, please try to add a note to the central repository (https://github.com/bountysource/core), thus other devs do not fall into the trap. The system still accepts new bounties.

Cervator commented 1 year ago

Oh hey, this is a blast of sadder than usual nostalgia. And a @rappo sighting! Good to see you still alive. I'm in a similar boat though - I'm still listed as a member (will fix) but with no special access on GitHub, I just checked, along with some old admin links. The old Slack still exists but appears decidedly abandoned.

The wiki seems to be open though, even to the point that somebody dropped a spam page in there - I deleted it since I could, I did care about this place once upon a time.

It does seem quite clear that this project has become a dangerous piece of flotsam. I wish I could do more but it seems we are limited to GitHub issues and the wiki - and the latter was really only ever an after-thought if I recall correctly.

In case it does matter I just stuck a warning footer in there for some minimal visibility. Good luck @abebeos and others. I wish this didn't quite turn out the way it did.

Cervator commented 1 year ago

For what it is worth as a member (now no longer) I did get to see the very limited member list - two names I vaguely recall as having contributed years ago like myself as a volunteer, and one I didn't recognize which is now the only owner: @soheilsk aka Last Persian - https://github.com/soheilsk

Not sure if that'll lead to a ping or any other sleuthing but it is what little I could see.

ghost commented 1 year ago

@rappo , @Cervator , thank you for your quick response, I'll leave you out of it now.

@ all: after a bit of thought:

ghost commented 1 year ago

@FrancescoBorzi

Proryanator commented 1 year ago

Is this still an issue people requesting payouts are facing? I just solved a $100 bounty and I'm looking to cash out, now I'm a bit worried it won't work.

Proryanator commented 1 year ago

I think the site has gone dark now, login page doesn't load. Welp.

quickwritereader commented 1 year ago

nowadays, it became easy for ordinary companies and persons to scam and fool people.
Previously, only the goverments could do such without getting punished.
the TBG owners are acting really shameless way. They do not even try to explain the issue and if they are trying anything other than "Just ignore and delay until they forget."

quickwritereader commented 1 year ago

They will keep ignoring us unless someone sues them.

quickwritereader commented 1 year ago

https://www.theblockchain-group.com/investor/news-financial-information/

Puteaux, le 28 août 2023. The Blockchain Group (code ISIN : FR0011053636, mnémonique : 
ALTBG) 
augmentation de capital avec maintien du droit préférentiel de souscription des actionnaires qui 
s’est déroulée du 4 au 23 août 2023.
Puteaux, August 28, 2023. The Blockchain Group (ISIN code: FR0011053636, mnemonic:
ALTBG)
capital increase with maintenance of the preferential subscription rights of shareholders who
took place from August 4 to 23, 2023.

So what the problem why they are not willing to pay <10-20k $?

kibix commented 1 year ago

i suggest to find out who invested in the last round and write to the investors to make them aware about the case, that will put them much more on fire than anything else

On 13 Sep 2023, at 10:44, abebeos wrote:

Criminal Liability should be at Bountysource CEO:

Maybe someone who's active on twitter starts a little bit publicity.

-- Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub: https://github.com/bountysource/core/issues/1586#issuecomment-1717299280 You are receiving this because you commented.

Message ID: @.***>

kibix commented 1 year ago

i guess it will not be complicated to find them on linked in or their emails, if you contact them and let them know that you and others are considering legal action and they should talk to the ceo to resolve this, it might work very well. The last thing the culprits want is their investors chasing them

On 13 Sep 2023, at 12:10, Abdelrauf wrote:

I got these below from Aug 4th's report.

i suggest to find out who invested in the last round and write to the investors to make them aware about the case, that will put them much more on fire than anything else … On 13 Sep 2023, at 10:44, abebeos wrote: Criminal Liability should be at Bountysource CEO: - https://www.theblockchain-group.com/investor/leadership-governance/ Maybe someone who's active on twitter starts a little bit publicity. -- Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub: #1586 (comment) You are receiving this because you commented. Message ID: @.***>

This capital increase operation benefits from subscription commitments of €1.5 million, representing 79% of the operation, and is distributed as follows:

o The companies SAS BRAS and SAS HOLDING LE SUQUET for 300,000 euros,

o Mr. Olivier GLEMSER up to 50,000 euros,

o CORETECH 5 up to 200,000 euros,

o Mr Bruno MONCORGE in the amount of 30,250 euros,

o FLAMBOYANTS CONSULTING Ltd. up to 202,222 euros,

o INVEST 12 up to 50,000 euros,

o Mr. Marc DESCAVES in the amount of 32,000 euros,

o Mr. Jean-François DESCAVES in the amount of 210,000 euros,

o SARL CONCEPT up to 100,000 euros,

o DOC SAS up to 150,000 euros,

o Mr. Pascal CHEVALIER up to 200,000 euros,

-- Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub: https://github.com/bountysource/core/issues/1586#issuecomment-1717422071 You are receiving this because you commented.

Message ID: @.***>

kibix commented 1 year ago

.. i am in embedded but not sure i can really assess that, its a different world where resources are quite limited ..

On 13 Sep 2023, at 12:28, Abdelrauf wrote:

@kibix That's the next step for sure.

@kibix of-topic[will be deleted]: are you an engineer in the embedded world? I want to switch to embedded, I would like to talk to someone to assess the severity of my skill conversion.

-- Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub: https://github.com/bountysource/core/issues/1586#issuecomment-1717447327 You are receiving this because you were mentioned.

Message ID: @.***>

quickwritereader commented 1 year ago

https://www.eniblock.com/

quickwritereader commented 1 year ago

anyone who is living in Europe could sue them. it has court fee https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/dealing-with-customers/solving-disputes/european-small-claims-procedure/index_en.htm

quickwritereader commented 1 year ago

https://www.linkedin.com/in/pascalchevalier/

He is one of the main persons behind and investors.

ghost commented 1 year ago

closing, this issue has done it's work

ghost commented 1 year ago

about getting money back, possible solution here:

ghost commented 1 year ago

reopening, for the case that anyone want's to do something with this issue.

Note that I do not monitor/follow the issue anymore.

ghost commented 1 year ago

Another follow-up:

kibix commented 1 year ago

i got my money back from paypal, you would not believe it. the case was resolved quickly.

So i have no reason to sue any more ..

On 24 Sep 2023, at 18:53, Abdelrauf wrote:

ouch. maybe we should put up a bounty to bring them to justice and finance a lawsuit

@kibix it seems, only this option is left. I learned that the court fee may be around 20-70 euros depending on the hearing if it's below 5000$. But there is one problem. It is easier within Europe. Unfortunately, I am outside. I do not know if it's possible to apply our collective cases.

https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/dealing-with-customers/solving-disputes/european-small-claims-procedure/index_en.htm

-- Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub: https://github.com/bountysource/core/issues/1586#issuecomment-1732630866 You are receiving this because you were mentioned.

Message ID: @.***>

kibix commented 1 year ago

well i just posted a bounty, and got that back ..

On 24 Sep 2023, at 22:03, Abdelrauf wrote:

@kibix I see. Im glad that you were able to get your money back. Were you backer?

-- Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub: https://github.com/bountysource/core/issues/1586#issuecomment-1732668810 You are receiving this because you were mentioned.

Message ID: @.***>

ghost commented 1 year ago

Were you backer?

Bounty-Recipients can ask the bounty-issuers/backers to ask for a paypal refund (this is for 180 days back).

If the bounty issuers are honest, the bounty-workers can get their money then from them directly.

I just realize that my 2 bounties are not 180 days old, so I'll try it myself this way.

John-Nagle commented 12 months ago

The parent company, The Blockchain Group, appears to be on the verge of bankruptcy.. They have announced that their stock stops trading on December 1, 2023.

"In view of the financial difficulties encountered by the Company, in particular its financial situation the Company is actively seeking short-term financial resources that will allow it to to ensure the continuity of its operations in fiscal 2024. The Company has initiated discussions with its main creditors on the one hand in order to reach an agreement with them to the effect that restructuring its debt and, on the other hand, with potential new investors with a view to a..."

ecurrencyhodler commented 12 months ago

To anyone looking for another platform to post bounties, I'd like to suggest our bounties site: https://community.sphinx.chat/bounties.

It's bitcoin-based but we also offer a way for people to pay for bounties outside of our platform.

If you're open to it, it may be worth while to also consider using bitcoin (although I completely understand any hesitancy and resistance to it). But you'd be able to raise funds in Bitcoin without using a custodian and using multisig where ownership can be split across multiple people. Then you can easily transfer it to hunters all over the world.

If any of this is something that interests any of you, please feel free to reach out. It's terrible to see FOSS projects get rugged and I'd love to help out in any way that I can.

eried commented 11 months ago

We had around 2k USD of pending bounties from random contributors on the website https://github.com/eried/portapack-mayhem

Sadly it might be too long for anyone to recover our money from paypal.

quickwritereader commented 11 months ago

@eried, have backers tried? Many were robbed, including me. But some of people who had PayPal ones were able to get. try your best to get your money

eried commented 11 months ago

@quickwritereader I posted a message to warn the backers, but it might be too late. Our bountysource was not very active (luckily) but over the years it had a considerable amount of accumulated small contributions which lately failed to get released and now reading this, makes sense, why.

Personally I contributed only around 100 USD (I am pretty sure most backers put similar amounts) image but this is 2 years ago, so no luck opening any dispute.

Sir-LoLz commented 11 months ago

is there a good alternative to bountysource?

Cwpute commented 11 months ago

The Newpipe team released an article earlier this october announcing a loss of around $6000 to Bountysource. https://newpipe.net/blog/pinned/announcement/we-have-lost-access-to-bountysource/

theoryshaw commented 10 months ago

Just to report another case, Bountysource did not pay out $3,500 on the following project, although it said it did on the website.

https://github.com/IfcOpenShell/IfcOpenShell/issues/1153 https://app.bountysource.com/issues/95048565-make-construction-drawing-generation-like-really-really-awesome (this link probably doesn't work anymore) image

quickwritereader commented 10 months ago

1595

alexanmtz commented 9 months ago

@Sir-LoLz

I'm a maintainer of Gitpay (https://gitpay.me/), which is entirely Open Source. We don't retain the bounty funds. I've been building and working on the platform for five years already.

kdumontnu commented 9 months ago

@Sir-LoLz

I'm a maintainer of Gitpay (https://gitpay.me/), which is entirely Open Source. We don't retain the bounty funds. I've been building and working on the platform for five years already.

What do you mean you don't retain the bounty funds? Are funds held in escrow until the project is completed?

Basically, why is Gitpay better than (Bountysource)?

alexanmtz commented 8 months ago

Find alternative(s) to Bountysource go-gitea/gitea#29331

@kdumontnu Yeah, the funds are retained for Credit Card payments until the issue is merged, and the author can automatically claim the bounties based on the criteria (issue closed and associated PR merged). We will not possess the funds paid by the sponsors.

We have better payout support, we're fully Open Source, and we provide Bonuses for solving issues from Gitpay itself.

FrancescoBorzi commented 8 months ago

Bountysource People

CEO

People

https://github.com/orgs/bountysource/people

~@rappo~ ~@Cervator~

On the main videos on website:

@FrancescoBorzi

Special Case:

@FrancescoBorzi is complaining about Bountysource here:

Today, he has a role within bountysource (see videos) :

https://bountysource.com/

But bountysource still abuses/embezzles the escrowed funds.

Please read my clarification about me not having anything to do with Bountysource: https://github.com/bountysource/core/issues/1597

ghost commented 5 months ago

https://web.archive.org/web/20240621223256/https://www.theblockchain-group.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/facture_9013575748_2021-09-14-1.pdf