Pixelon founder arrested for embezzlement

[Phil McRevis <legalize@xmission.com>]

http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/04/14/dot.comfugitive.ap/index.html

Pixelon.com founder really was fugitive from Virginia
April 14, 2000

Web posted at: 12:32 PM EDT (1632 GMT)

WISE, Virginia (AP) -- A fugitive embezzler who was on the state of 
Virginia's most wanted list changed his name, moved to California, raised 
$35 million from investors and founded a splashy "dot com" billed as the 
first online broadcast network, authorities said.

David Stanley, fearful that Virginia State Police were closing in on his 
San Bernardino, Calif., home, returned to Wise this month and turned 
himself in at the county jail.

Authorities say the convicted embezzler took on the name Michael Adam Fenne 
soon after disappearing and founded Pixelon Inc. bankrolled by private 
investors.

Pixelon.com, launched last October, is described by the company as the 
first online broadcast network featuring full-screen, TV-quality audio and 
video; its Web site boasts "the highest quality video experience on the Web."

The company's directors ousted Stanley in November when his grand plans 
didn't work, but they were still stunned by the surrender this week.

"It's just absolutely shocking to everybody here," said Stephanie Kitzes, 
corporate counsel for the San Juan Capistrano, Calif.-based Pixelon. "We'll 
be conducting an investigation into exactly who this person is."

The startup party for pixelon.com last Oct. 29 was billed as "the largest 
event ever held to launch an Internet company" and was said to cost $12 
million. The event, dubbed "iBash '99," was held at the MGM Grand Hotel and 
Casino in Las Vegas and featured a rare reunion by the British rock band 
the Who, among other musical acts.

"The Internet today is an extremely exciting medium for any artist," Who 
singer Roger Daltrey said at the time the show was announced. "Pixelon is 
certainly doing some extremely high-quality work, and broadband visual 
technology is definitely the wave of the future."

The company also is a sponsor of the PBS music series "Sessions at West 54th."

In 1989, Stanley pleaded guilty to 55 counts of taking money in a fraud 
scheme in Virginia and Tennessee. Authorities said he swindled victims in 
Virginia out of $750,000 and defrauded associates in Tennessee of $500,000

A judge gave him a suspended sentence and delayed sending him to prison to 
give him time to pay back the money he had taken. After repaying a 
substantial sum, Stanley disappeared from his Kingsport, Tenn., home in 1996.

Police have not said how they tracked Stanley to California.

On Wednesday, Stanley persuaded the judge to grant him access to the 
Internet so he can liquidate his assets in California and start repaying 
what he owes.

Wise officials place the figure at about $300,000, but Anthony Collins, 
Stanley's lawyer, said the debt is about $160,000.

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