Playnet Technologies, Inc. (Scam by Samuel “Mouli” Cohen ) - Delaware

Beautifully engraved specimen certificate from Playnet Technologies, Inc. This historic document was printed by the American Banknote Company and has an ornate border around it with a vignette of the company name with three monitors connected by wires with smiling faces. This item has the printed signatures of the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, Samuel “Mouli” Cohen and Secretary.


Certificate Vignette



A former Belvedere resident who founded an electronic entertainment company has been convicted in federal court in San Francisco of 29 criminal counts in connection with a $30 million investment fraud scheme, prosecutors announced on Thursday. U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag said Samuel “Mouli” Cohen, 53, was convicted by a jury in the court of U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer on Wednesday of 15 counts of wire fraud, 11 counts of money laundering and three counts of tax evasion.

Cohen will be sentenced by Breyer on Feb. 2. The judge ordered him to be taken into custody while awaiting sentencing. Cohen was a co-founder in 1999 of San Francisco-based Ecast Inc., which provides electronic music, games and entertainment to bars and nightclubs. Haag said evidence at the trial showed that Cohen collected more than $30 million from investors, initially by falsely telling them that Ecast was about to be acquired by Microsoft Corp. and later by saying that additional funds were needed for fees to obtain approval from U.S. and European Union regulatory agencies.

Many of the investors were associated with the now-defunct Vanguard Public Foundation, Haag said. Cohen took in the investors’ funds between 2002 and 2008, according to a grand jury indictment issued last year. Haag said there was never actual or potential acquisition of Ecast by Microsoft and that Cohen spent millions of dollars on lavish personal expenses including private jets, luxury cars, and vacations in France, Italy and the Caribbean.

An affidavit filed in the case by U.S. Internal Revenue Service investigator Juan Saavedra last year said that Cohen met actor Danny Glover, a founder of Vanguard Public Foundation, in August 2002, and said he wanted to help Vanguard in its mission. Glover then arranged for Cohen to meet Vanguard President Hari Dillon, the affidavit said.Cohen allegedly told Dillon and other investors that they could make large profits from the supposed Microsoft acquisition, but told them the planned deal was highly confidential and no one should do research on it, according to the indictment.

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On August 9, 2010, federal prosecutors in California unsealed a criminal indictment accusing local businessman Samuel “Mouli” Cohen of defrauding over 55 investors, including actor Danny Glover, out of more than $30 million with claims that his company was about to be acquired by Microsoft Corp. On his website, the Israel-born Cohen describes himself as an entrepreneur, “one of the few to have success in biotechnology and high technology,” and he claims to have “generated well over $3 billion in shareholder value.”

According to the indictment, Cohen allegedly lied to investors with claims that his company, Ecast, was about to be acquired by Microsoft and that once the deal was completed, Cohen’s Ecast shares would be exchanged on a 1-for-1 basis for Microsoft shares of stock, which would have netted investors significant gains. According to a related civil lawsuit that Glover and his affiliate Vanguard Public Foundation filed against Cohen last year, Vanguard “has been effectively destroyed” by Cohen’s activities. Cohen was a persuasive salesman who had “all the trappings of success,” according to Peter Rehon, a lawyer in the civil suit.

Prior Allegations of Fraud – A review of civil litigation filings where Mr. Cohen either resided or worked identified more than 20 lawsuits against him dating back to the 1990’s. They include two lawsuits from 2003 and 2004 which contained fraud allegations against Cohen that are nearly identical to the recently-filed criminal indictment. A more in-depth review of the those litigation filings would have uncovered allegations that Cohen was not the successful entrepreneur with a self-reported net worth of over $40 million and was Ecast not close to finalizing any merger deals or financing agreements with Microsoft.

Failed Business Venture – Over the past several years, Cohen has issued numerous press releases and online posts relating to his many ventures claiming that he was “one of few to have success in biotechnology and high technology” which has “generated well over $3 billion in shareholder value.” However, Cohen failed to disclose that just prior to his affiliation with Ecast he was president and CEO of Playnet Technologies which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 1998. According to a 1997 SEC filing, Playnet Technologies had $819,894 in revenues for the period of 1990 through July 1997 and a net loss of $170,561 for that same period.

Conspicuous Consumption – In August 2002, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Mouli Cohen had 30 guests at his multi-million dollar Belvedere residence “to celebrate the completion of his new house.” However, subsequent investigation disclosed that Cohen never actually owned this property. The residence had been owned by a Lawrence and Karen Drebes, founders of desktop.com, since the late 1990’s. In addition, Cohen often self-promoted himself via videos on YouTube discussing fine art and philanthropy painting the “trappings of success.” Cohen also posted various photographs of himself on one of his many social networking websites taking pleasure on yachts, ski vacations, and beautiful beaches all while giving projecting an image of vast wealth to potential investors who may decide to “Google him.”

$450,000 Owed in Federal Tax Liens – On October 22, 1998 a $150,627 federal tax lien was filed against Cohen in New York and on February 27, 2001 a $313,592 federal tax lien was filed against Cohen in San Francisco. Additionally, the New York State Tax Commission filed a $40,492 judgment against Cohen on December 2, 1999.

“Millionaire Residency” Status – Multiple press releases published by Cohen disclosed that he “was awarded the first-ever ‘Millionaire Residency’ with full citizenship status by President George H. Bush.” Unfortunately for Mr. Cohen, as far as we can tell, there is no such thing as a “Millionaire Residency” status. A simple Google search of the term “Millionaire Residency” does identify multiple results, but upon further review, nearly all of them relate to Cohen and his self-promoting.

Inconsistencies in Cohen’s Professional History – There are multiple inconsistencies with Cohen’s self-reported employment history on his LinkedIn profile as compared to his reported work history to the SEC. Specifically, his online profile page indicates that he was Chairman and CEO of “Aristo International” from 1980 and 1982, while SEC filings indicate he was affiliated with Aristo International (which later became Playnet Technologies) from 1990 through 1998. In addition, he self-reports that he was Chairman and CEO of “Lamia Enterprises” from 1982 and 1984, while according to SEC Filings he was affiliated with Lamia from 1989 through 1991. While date inconsistencies with a person’s reported employment history may not necessarily be a clear indication of fraud, numerous and significant inconsistencies do raise a red flag and should be grounds for further inquiry.

Multiple Aliases – A review of litigation filings and other publicly-available documentation identified multiple aliases for Mr. Cohen over the past 10 years including: Mouli Cohen, Shmuel Cohen, Shmual Cohen, Schmual Cohen, Samuel Cohen and Moli Cohen. Although the multiple name variations are not significant in and of themselves, it raises the possibility of accusations against other aliases, which he could have been looking to hide.

History from Wikipedia.

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