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Dislcosure from JT Financial, SL's largest virtual bank...

Written by Xavier Mohr

Tuesday, 04 December 2007

Date: December 04, 2007, 5:00PM SLT
From: Arbitrage Wise: Chairman, JT Financial

To whom it may concern:

Many of our customers and investors that have been with us from the beginning know that we have made plans for this day to disclose our operations and how JT Financial is capable of paying such high interest rates. My old blog (http://arbitragewise.blogspot.com/) has disclosed some of the details about the business, but did not provide the specifics. Recent events, which I'll disclose momentarily, have compelled me to offer a full disclosure of how JT Financial is capable of paying investors the interests promised to them.

Since inception, JT Financial has been supported with revenue earned from the software created by www.juicetrading.com, owned by the RW incorporated business Arbitrage Associates LLC, thus the letters "JT".

Juicetrading is a Sports Arbitrage software program that has been created and managed by our equity partner - a Romanian-based independent software development team.
Not only are we testing and developing the software for a commercial release, but we are currently leveraging the software ourselves to generate the income needed to further develop the software, as well as pay a percentage of the interest earned by JT Financial depositors.
The entire business including development, testing, and operations of the software is done by our development team in Romania.
Because of the nature of Sports Arbitrage and recent legislative action in the U.S., we have been particularly careful and diligent not to market or bring our product to the US market. Our marketing focus and Arbitrage Operation is now, has been, and shall remain fully offshore of U.S. territories. Our near-term primary opportunity will be the European and other overseas markets, where Sports Arbitrage is a vibrant, thriving and fully legal business.

So, why am I disclosing this proprietary and confidential development effort to you today? First some history and perspective; our original goal was to fully develop, test, and market this product within Second Life(tm). We wanted to prove to the SL community that there are indeed viable business models capable of delivering the types of returns that JT Financial has delivered consistently since the beginning. Surely most of you have read slanderous SL articles that claim that every SL Financial Institution must either be a Ponzi or some other form of deception. Our point has been and remains to prove without question that such claims are not always based in fact - hence my Avatar Arbitrage Wise and the Wise Metaverse Empire.

Unfortunately, our current product is not commercially ready, and will not be ready for quite some time. We did not think it was in the best interest of our business to disclose information about a product that is not ready. However, we no longer have the luxury of waiting to disclose our product portfolio and marketing strategy idea until we were strategically ready as our Intellectual Property Rights have been recently compromised and disclosed to a third party - which I must now disclose in the interest of protecting my investment and the investments of my capital partners and the JT Financial customers.

Today, I was contacted by Mr. IntLibber Brautigan of Brautigan & Tuck Holdings (BNT), operator of the AnCapex Exchange (ACE) a competing Stock Exchange, and Founder of the SLEC. The transcript of that dialogue is posted here for your review.

[10:05] IntLibber Brautigan: You and I need to have a talk about Juice Trading
[12:07] Arbitrage Wise: What did you want to talk about?
[12:08] IntLibber Brautigan: Firstly, I know all about it.
[12:09] IntLibber Brautigan: the US House of Representatives Republican Majority Whip wants a report from us about juice trading to forward to the FBI
[12:09] Arbitrage Wise: k - is that it?
[12:09] IntLibber Brautigan: no
[12:10] IntLibber Brautigan: From here on out you are going to fully support everything the SLEC does, and Bo is going to stop obstructing things
[12:11] IntLibber Brautigan: you will announce that given Skip Oceanlanes' treatment by WSE, you now concur with the SLEC ruling against WSE
[12:11] IntLibber Brautigan: you will stop bashing BNT, and you and your staff will stop trying to bribe and telling my staff to stop working for me
[12:11] Arbitrage Wise: Thanks - but no thanks....
[12:12] Arbitrage Wise: and lastly, we've never bashed nor talked about BNT
[12:12] Arbitrage Wise: I'll end the conversation there...
[12:12] IntLibber Brautigan: Suit yourself
[12:12] IntLibber Brautigan: Expect a news release through third parties soon
[12:13] IntLibber Brautigan: and an FBI investigation

Per the conversation, Mr. Brautigan has used our desire not to disclose our trade secret in an attempt to blackmail us into doing what he demands. We therefore felt that it is in the best interest of our investors and customers to hear it from us, even though we do not deem it to be the right time strategically.

Since day one of our operations, we have sought appropriate and varied legal counsel and advice on our business practices, as well as have kept accurate detail and history of all our transactions to ensure that anything we do is within the boundaries of United States law.

In light of Mr. Brautigan's clear and divisive threat, we are disclosing here for all to review our practices and business model, and, if compelled to do so by appropriate lawful authorities, are prepared disclose the full extent of the feature set and margins on which our platforms operate.

Given the nature and clear intent of Mr. Brautigan's actions this morning, I am left with no alternative but to withdraw JT Financial and SL Capital Exchange, and its employee's support of the SLEC. In my view, this is the second attempt in less than thirty days that Mr. Brautigan has attempted to use his position of influence within the SL Community to recklessly and intolerably slander and harm a direct competitor to his SL business interests.

As a business owner operating within and adjacent to SL, I can not condone, nor can I responsibly or conscionably recommend or support any individual, business or entity that would stoop to outright blackmail as a tactic for doing business.

As such, JT Financial and the SL Capital Exchange will no longer recognize the SLEC as an entity, nor shall it recommend or endorse any parties associated with the SLEC or BNT Holdings.

Frankly, there is enough drama, corruption, and grievance already. Individuals and businesses should achieve success and prosperity on their own merit, not through the deceitful, manipulative and clearly unethical tactics that were demonstrated today. For the record, we have NEVER published any derogatory statements regarding Mr. Brautigan or any of his entities - we made a sound business decision several months ago to disassociate ourselves from BNT - perhaps you now see why.

Respectfully,

Arbitrage Wise
Founder, Chairman
JT Financial

Comments

RSS

Cezare Blanco

|2008-02-24 07:23:50

Well, not working and not have a limit. Grrr. Sites without instruction manuals
or edit button.. Darn. *laugh!

Cezare Blanco

|2008-02-24 07:21:14

(Cont. Sorry no one told me of post length limit!)

>> The Term and Conditions
state that it

Cezare Blanco - Some answers

|2008-02-24 07:18:10

This post is a bit old and I found during my researches, by such noticing some
unanswered questions. And since I am an international person myself, having
resided a couple years in several different countries due to RL job, perhaps I
qualify to answer them at least under a certain point of view and on a certain
extent.

>> You state that its not gambling but you go out of your way to make
sure everyone knows the operations and development are based outside of the US.

It's better to base a business in a country that has one single law about one
matter over that whole country, than in a country whose laws change from state
to state. It's simply safer that way.

This way we do not risk upsetting people
of state A, state B, and please only people of states C and D when common laws
are concerned.

When I graduated in a certain course in USA, I was quite upset
my diploma of one state wasn't valid in the other. Some stuff we need to be
*nation-wide*.

>> Post #13 states that the software is not for sale in the US,
however the sign up fields include state, a very American thing.

I'm afraid
NOT. Many of us are born in countries that actually have states. And, I know it
is hard for some to admit, but USA map is *NOT* taught worldwide, nor the first
thing we learn at school, when we are not born and bred in USA.

Afraid of
being stating the obvious, but just in case I would like to point out to people
who believe the Planet has only one country... that the world has several
countries.

And most countries focus on teaching their children about their own
country FIRST, with its own climate, topography and politic divisions (Estates,
Districts, etc)... and only THEN teaching them there is a world outside. And
vaguely at that. And when they do, US is not top priority. Most Europeans learn
about European countries first, THEN 'rest of the world', for example.

States
were present in MANY countries. It's not 'American thing', believe me.

>> The
terms and conditions state that any issues will be dealt with under US law.

I
am not sure if it happens on Arbitrage's software, because gambling and
investing in something I cannot hold with my RL hands nor do anything about it
in RL is not of my interest.

However, I have installed many software of
international precedence and I notice in their TOS, instructions for issues to
be dealt with... the *Local Law.*

I am unsure on why Arbitrage would make an
USA-based software, if his business is based Romania and he has no wish to have
it commercialized in US. But this is none of my business really. I just wanted
to point out that some software change "courts" according to the country
they are commercialized.

>> The Term and Conditions state that it

MAng Korobase

|2008-02-18 21:15:35

I've thought about this since finding out. When I first joined JT Financial as
a customer, I asked what they did with the money that was deposited. I was told
that they used it in the same way a bank uses money.

That turns out to be
untrue.

RL Banks invest money in stocks, bonds, mortgages, etc. In JT
Financial's case, the money was being invested in ONE HIGH RISK business
venture.

Talk about putting all your eggs in one basket.

Arb's business
venture is perfectly legit; as a number of posters here have noted, and it is
also perfectly legit to invest in a project with OPM (Other People's
Money.)

HOWEVER (and it's a VERY BIG) HOWEVER.

I put my money into JT
Financial on the understanding it was operating as a BANK, not an INVESTMENT
OPPORTUNITY. If I had wanted to invest, I would have found an opportunity to
invest in.

As JT Financial's clients, we deserved FULL DISCLOSURE prior to
putting our money into Arb's hands. Usually, business ventures seeking
investment include non-disclosure agreements, a full prospectus, outlining the
risks and opportunities involved.

This strikes me as a very shady way of
operating on Arb's point, and I will seriously think twice before putting my
money into SL Wallet or JT Financial ever again.

SLReports.net User

|2008-01-06 20:46:58

as long as arb keeps betting offshore there is no problem with the law.

maybe
this is a small point but there was not a republican majority whip at the time
of arb's post. by definition it was a democrat majority whip, or a republican
minority whip. and who the hell talks like that unless they are full of bs?
wouldn't they just drop the name if it lent believability to their
argument?

i would like to congratulate arbitrage on using this clever way to
grab a slice of the pie in the metaverse. it will be something huge, even if it
is not sl. no matter what happens, arb stepped up and took a gamble at the
prize.

SLReports.net User

|2008-01-06 19:58:41

And as far as sports betting in the US goes, it's perfectly legal in Las Vegas.
So this software would be useful there, and quite possibly in demand if it's
well designed. So what'd be the point of any investigation?

SLReports.net User

|2007-12-20 15:52:34

Someone should point out that in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA this software is
LEGAL.

It is not a betting platform, it is an informational tool.

Granted
it scans the lines at various gaming establishments and provides you with an
alert when an oppourtunity is found, which would encourage the user to
gamble.

However the application itself is much like FOREX software, or other
stock analasis software. It provides information for its user to make a more
informed decision / automate the proccess of comparing all the diffrent lines.

Its still up to the user to place the bet. Depending on the users actions,
the user is either legal or illegal.

The software itself, and JuiceTrading is
all good.

Dimitri Gasser
aka

Ian Bakewell
http://www
.workfromhometipster .com

Dimitri Gasser

|2007-12-20 15:39:23

Im just dissapointed I never knew about JuiceTrading before.

Arbitrage, when
the affiliate program is setup let me know, I have a hungry list of 1.2mil
double opt in subscribers I would love to pitch JT to. Remarkable tool!

Dimitri Gasser
aka

Ian Bakewell
The.workfromhometipster .com"> Work From Home Tipster

SLReports.net User

|2007-12-13 13:58:32

ARE all the operations based in Romania? It shouldn't take an attorney to raise
these questions Xavier Mohr. Perhaps #11 WAS thinking globally. It's a little
presumptive to slam someone like that.

I guess I too don't understand the
nature of the business. You state that its not gambling but you go out of your
way to make sure everyone knows the operations and development are based outside
of the US. Post #13 states that the software is not for sale in the US, however
the sign up fields include state, a very American thing. The terms and
conditions state that any issues will be dealt with under US law. You also
state that it's just an investment of Arbitrage Wise, however in one place I
read after a Google search stated that they received an email that Juice Trading
was wholly owned by Arbitrage Associates LLC. The Term and Conditions state
that it’s an informational, not betting, site. Why the need for the Romanians?
It also seems pricey for someone to pay $99 for information. How will it keep
going? Is it profitable? I would look at it myself but I’m not willing to pay
$99. Also interesting that a non-American site that caters to non-Americans
charges American dollars.

Please understand I am not slamming anyone here or
saying that the business is wrong. Theres just not enough info. I think public
should get a little more info than what is given here. Just because you can
identify a large market for something doesn't mean that you can just open a
business and succeed. I trust that Arbitrage Wise did his homework, but I am
curious for more information. Regardless of if JTF is private, he's got a lot
of people's money. It just seems risky for a virtual bank to venture into such
a business.

Jim Schack

|2007-12-09 12:24:17

I said what i said because Prok is referring to me organizing griefers in her
sim. As much as I don't like IntLib, i can vouch the guy does not do what
Prokofy claims. It makes no since to bring conspiracy theories when there's real
evidence against the guy's honesty and integrity.

"I have had numerous
attacks on my tenants and properties by these goons which were hired by, or
associated, with Intlibber (some of them later turned on him)."

She has
been making these statements for months and they are baseless. She makes them
about anyone who disagrees with her, because if you do you MUST be a griefer
right? Again, no reason to whip out the tin foil hat when there are all these
bloody gloves lying around.

Strange Ranger

|2007-12-08 05:36:12

It's not really the lack of opinion, but the failure to stay on topic, in this
case.

Either way, try having a conversation without an opinion of your own.
There wouldn't be much to talk about, would there?

The fact is, flaming other
people that are commenting here does nothing but earn the "troll" title,
which serves no useful purpose.

SLReports.net User

|2007-12-08 04:34:09

Woah, since when does someone have to have an opinion to contribute to the
conversation.

Strange Ranger

|2007-12-07 19:31:10

Jim: Prokofy is entitled to comment on this subject, just as you are. There is
no reason at all that you need to use this as a platform to voice your
"personal" feelings toward Prok.

Just you going around trying to
discredit the opinion of somebody who feels the same way as you do toward
IntLibber and throwing in something about cats and Lenin quotes makes me think
that you have no actual opinion of your own, and therefore have nothing to
contribute to this conversation.

The text just above the comment box says
"Please keep your comments on topic". I expect that you'll do so, in the
future.

SLReports.net User

|2007-12-07 18:39:38

I'm not going to state the obvious when it comes to IntLibber. It's the primary
reason I left BnT.

Prok, please stop pretending you have a clue what is going
on between ex-employees of BnT and BnT or just BnT in general because you don't.
Just you going around talking about V5 as if it was ever real discredits
anything you have to say. Go feed your cats and read more Lenin quotes.

SLReports.net User

|2007-12-06 13:46:50

Intl is totally a joke. he will do anything to bring down his competitors
instead of having a healthy competition. I worked for him BEFORE. Only 1 word to
describe him... 'horrid'

Cash Yiyuan

|SAdministrator |2007-12-06 10:53:10

Intibbler in the days of AVIX was confronted by me because one of his associates
was griefing the AVIX exchange - he told me basically to mind my own business &
he and his employees are entitled to have fun.

Hes a fun kinda guy.... or is
the fungi?

SLReports.net User

|2007-12-06 01:22:10

It's difficult to know what the true story here is, because the news is
published by a news outlet itself evidently connected to, and funded at least by
advertising for, this exchange.

As with all things in Second Life, you can
only go by the person's actual behaviour as you have experienced over time. Even
meeting them in real life doesn't really help. So in weighing the story here,
I'd be more inclined to believe Arbitrage Wise, just because I don't have any
reason *not* to believe him, having observed him over time in SL and RL at SLCC
-- and I have every reason to believe Intlibber has engaged in blackmail,
precisely because I have direct experience of him employing thugs to intimidate
me not only for what I write on my blog, but evidently because he views me as
some kind of competition in business, which seems ludicrous. By his own
admission -- made with gloating and malice on the Herald pages -- he hired PN/v5
griefers ostensibly to "put them on the straight and narrow" -- but of
course no such thing happened. I have had numerous attacks on my tenants and
properties by these goons which were hired by, or associated, with Intlibber
(some of them later turned on him).

In talking to Intlibber at length on a
number of occasions, I have to say I found his worldview pretty frightening.
It's this sort of amalgam of Ayn Rand and Snowcrash and Friedman -- the bottom
line, it's about gaining power over other people and exploiting them and
treating those who are in the way, or weaker, with contempt.

Intlibber is a
former chair of the Libertarian Party, and that suggests he has had his own
troubles in real life. In any event, I hope others will join me in doing a
simple exercise -- just write the House Republican Whip, Roy
Blunt:

http://www .blunt.house.gov/

Ask him why he would be involved in
investigating a non-American citizen in a country abroad about matters not
concerning his state or his slate of issues.

The entire thing seems odd to
me, because if there really was a case of fraud or illegal gambling, why start
with a Congressman, who cannot himself start some criminal investigation. What
you would do is contact the FBI.

Looking at Blunt's profile, I see he is far
more busy fighting the scourge of meth in his district, and promoting business,
not trying to kill it.

Regardless of the facts of Arbitrage's case, invoking
the threat of the House Whip seems a really egregious misuse of a contact,
assuming its legitimate. It's morally, if not legally wrong.

Prokofy Neva

Arnuad Villota

|2007-12-05 21:20:27

To #11's point...First off Arbitrage is not promoting nor providing gambling in
SL or in the U.S., secondly he is not selling his software in SL or in the U.S..
Xavier points out correctly that he is not doing anything illegal because his
operations are based in Romania where sports betting is perfectly legal.

So
don't try to spin this with rhetoric. It won't work. The fact is that Intlibber
threatened Arbitrage with specific actions if Arbitrage did not conform to
Inlibbers wishes. This is blackmail, pure and simple, no matter what country,
culture or language you happen to be in conformance with.

IMHO.

Xavier Mohr

|2007-12-05 18:51:53

Someone wrote:

I'm disappointed in all of the self proclaimed moguls.

I think one of the commenters either here or at CapEx coined
the term "Armchair Attorneys." A term that I
have grown very fond of, and have used several times
in relation to things in the SL finance world.
Very applicable here. Bottom line is don't type
legal mumbo-jumbo unless you know what the heck you are
talking about. ;)

~ ~ ~

As to the accusation that
this is not blackmail, I have to disagree. The party
threatened to expose the nature of the business if the other did
not come out in favor of SLEC policies. Threatening
to expose private information if Mr. Wise did not
meet certain demands.

In any event, you have to look at
this particular issue more globally than regionally.
Last time I checked, it is not illegal to INVEST in
something that is legal in one jurisdiction but not legal in
your own.

On that note, how is it illegal for Mr. Wise to
fund and profit from a thriving sports arbitrage business if all
the operations are based in Romania, where sportsbetting
is perfectly legal?

On a depositor and investor level,
this might not be such a bad thing. Gambling is a
BOOMING industry which globally brings in trillions of
dollars of year! It's legal in many countries and
very well-accepted. And it's not that JuiceTrading.com is a
GAMBLING BUSINESS....... Mr. Wise is just providing
the software that facilitates sports arbitrage.

I would
urge people to look at other investments of other banks before
coming to a conclusion on this. This actually seems to be one
of the more profitable ideas around.

Not really sure that
I have a huge problem with anything other than the
failed blackmail attempt, which has apparently backfired worse
than could have ever been imagined.

SLReports.net User

|2007-12-05 18:31:57

This is not blackmail. Blackmail is threatening to expose a secret about
someone or something in return for something of value.

I'm disappointed in
all of the self proclaimed moguls. Can we get a grip? No one mentioned
anything about congressional hearings, only a request for information by an
individual. You never know who has what friends...

Off the top of my head,
why would the US government have interest? Well, where is the server housing
this site located? Where is the company owning this site located? Where does
the owner of this company live? Considering that Linden Labs was urged to stop
gambling I am sure that the government would treat a Texas company owned by a
Texas resident with a site housed on a server in what appears to be located in
New York the same way, regardless of where you market. This is a tricky
situation IMHO.

Nobody Likes Mike

|2007-12-05 17:06:17

Blackmail is blackmail, and in the United States it is a crime. I would
encourage Arbitrage Wise to file charges against IntLibber Brautigan in real
life. This guy needs to be in jail.

Could we also possibly see a defamation
of character lawsuit come out of this? That would be fun.

SLReports.net User

|2007-12-05 16:47:54

If Congress were investigating JTF, Arbitrage Wise would receive a subpoena in
real life. No congressman would try to get information from IntLibber Brautigan,
some pissant game player with a big mouth, documented anti-government actions
and beliefs, who in fact has no connection to JT Financial. I would call on
Brautigan to release the full name, state and district, and telephone number of
the Congressman in question if in fact this is true... so we can question this
legislator as to the validity of these claims and why he is talking to someone
unrelated to the operations of this bank. Intlibber is a dirty, nasty liar and
needs to go the way of Investor Allen and get the fuck off this grid.

Charlie Oumionna

|2007-12-05 16:08:42

I spoke to Int:

[13:55] IntLibber Brautigan: Hi Charlie
[13:55] You: hi
Int
[13:55] You: Is it true, what Arbitrage said?
[13:56] IntLibber Brautigan:
that he is selling an illegal sports betting application to subsidize JT
financial?
[13:56] IntLibber Brautigan: and a US Congressman is
investigating?
[13: 56] You: yes
[13:56] IntLibber Brautigan: those things are
true
[13:56] You: and what were you doing?
[13:57] IntLibber Brautigan: I
tried to encourage Arb to get back on the straight and narrow, exchange heads
shouldn't be mixed up in things of questionable legality
[13:57] You:
OK
[13:57] IntLibber Brautigan: he disgraces the SL capital markets
[13:57]
You: a bit...
[13:57] IntLibber Brautigan: brings us all into
disrepute
[13:58] IntLibber Brautigan: and confuses the public by mixing
investment up with gambling
[13:58] You: Do you have anything more to
say?
[13:58] IntLibber Brautigan: If my only offense is to have standards and
ethics and seek to hold my colleagues to them, then I have nothing to apologize
for
[13:58] You: thanks Int

JT Supporter!

|2007-12-05 14:33:50

Arb is a great guy and I APPLAUD him for telling the truth. The
simple fact is that JTF is NOT a public business, never
has been, and Arb has said time after time that it never
WILL BE. He had a right to keep his secret until he
launched his perfected version.

Seems like people
dont understand that in most of the world sports betting
is socially acceptable and even LEGAL. And from what
I understand most of JTs PROFITS are from the SOFTWARE
that ACCOMODATES the sportsbetting, not the
betting ITSELF.

Intlibber Brautigan is a JEALOUS ass
hole. Arb is successful because he treats his customers
right and has proven strategies for paying interest. I hope
this BLATANT BLACKMAIL ATTEMPT puts BNT OUT OF BUSINESS!!!!!!!

All I can say is GO ARB GO!!!!

The Second Life Business Gazette

|2007-12-05 13:55:45

If Arbitrage says the truth (we don't know who to trust in SL any more), we
applaud him for telling the truth unlike so many others in the SL financial
world.
We where following what SLEC was saying, but after this, SLEC-BGG
relation is over.

Charlie Oumionna
BGG Ceo & Editor

SLReports.net User

|2007-12-05 13:21:35

I am not from the US and I don't know the law in the US, but in my country
blackmail, or the attempt to do so is a criminal offense and you can go to jail
for something like this! If this is true IntLibbers business practices are not
unethical they are criminal!

SLReports.net User

|2007-12-05 13:02:17

I'm guessing Strange Ranger finally thought of those choice words,
LOL

Announcing: Ass Hole of the Year
sl.webfeedcent ral.com

SLReports.net User

|2007-12-05 12:29:12

Wonder how many people Int has tried this on..
No wonder he is always getting
griefed..

Strange Ranger

|2007-12-05 06:19:53

"Thanks, but no thanks", guys? I could think of a few better words for
this stupid move. No need for any more "bashing"... he's doing a great
job of that, himself... more on my site...

SLReports.net User - None

|2007-12-04 21:14:34

okay so i can either trust my money to someone that may or may not use it to
build sportsbetting software, or i can trust it to someone that blackmails his
competitors.

at least i know that one can possibly make money.

thanks but
no thanks int. ill stick to JT. I applaud Arbitrage Wise for telling the truth
unlike so many others in this SL "financial" world

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