Brock Pierce Timeline
The purpose of this timeline is to establish that Brock Pierce is deliberately misrepresenting his past. He has made assertions in recent statements to Ryan Selkis and the Bitcoin Foundation that are contradicted by previous journalism or legal findings, and he also misrepresented his story to Wired journalist Julian Dibbell in 2008.
Furthermore, Pierce maintains that he was “unaware” for years of lawsuits brought against him by former employees. This timeline will establish that those lawsuits were covered for several months in newspapers and tech industry journals, and that from late 2000 to sometime in 2004, Pierce was not passively “unaware” of legal actions against him, but living in Spain fully aware of the lawsuits and investigations against him, and trying to evade responsibility.
He only returned to the USA after he and his partners were arrested and extradited from Spain to the USA.
Again — not trying to prove or disprove the content of the allegations against Pierce, but to show that after his first company collapsed, he went into hiding in Spain, and lied to the press about his reasons and his inability to contend with the charges against him. In his current attempts to clear his name, Brock Pierce continues to obfuscate and misrepresent key incidents from his past.
Prologue 1991 — 1997, New Jersey, Concentric Research
1991
Marc Collins Rector founds Concentric Research, an ISP, with attorney Randy Maslow as general Counsel.
1995
Concentric is receiving investments from the likes of Goldman Sachs
1993-1997
Marc Collins Rector molests Plaintiff JW in New Jersey.
This becomes subject of late 1999 civil lawsuit, subsequent FBI investigation and August 2000 criminal indictment. The indictment is made public in June 2002 (after Marc Collins Rector is arreseted at large in Spain.)
This is the “years before” incident which Brock Pierce refers to in his statement to the BTCF.
Part 1, 1997-2000 Encino California, Digital Entertainment Network, Civil Suits
1997.
Marc Collins Rector and Chad Shackley sell a portion of Concentric and move to LA to start Digital Entertainment Network (DEN)
1997- 1999
At least 4 incidents of Marc Collins Rector taking underage boys out of California to have sex with them. Marc Collins Rector would be charged with 21 counts of “child enticement” in a Federal case for these crimes. He would plead guilty in 2004 on 8 counts agianst 4 victims, known by their initials “R.G.” “J.T.” “B.L” and “D.S”. Brock Pierce has made no public statement about these criminal cases.
1998 — 1999
Brock Pierce working at DEN. Brock Pierce’s date of hire is unclear but he’s profiled in a June, 98 Oasis Magazine article as a DEN executive.
1998 — 1999
Alleged molestation of Daniel S, Mike Egan, and 2 others occurs, as detailed in a Radar Magazine article from 2008 and “Last Pixel Show” article in ZDNet. Subject of civil suits filed in summer 2000. At least one of these victims (Civil plaintiff “Daniel S” / Criminal Victim “D.S.”) may also be the victim in the criminal complaints for which Marc Collins Rector pled guilty. These are the lawsuits which Brock Pierce says were filed fraudulently as an extortion scheme by Egan.
November 1999
DEN prepares for IPO as Financial Troubles are reported in industry press.
Autumn 1999,
“J.W.” files lawsuit against Marc Collins Rector alleging molestation in New Jersey from 1993 through 1997. These incidents are detailed in an FBI Investigation published by TMZ (they have mis-labeled the document the Mike Egan affidavit, when it’s actually a criminial complained written by an FBI agent on his own investigation into several victims’ accounts)
DEN IPO Cancelled. Collins-Rector, Shackley and Pierce resign from DEN. FBI opens investigation into DEN founders. Collins-Rector settles lawsuit.
May, 2000
DEN Announces Bankruptcy.
July, 2000
4 former DEN employees — Mike Egan, Daniel S, and 2 others file civil suit against Marc Collins Rector, Chad Shackley and Brock Pierce alleging kidnapping, rape and death threats. At this point, the 3 DEN Founders are at large an unable to be served.
August, 2000
Marc Collins-Rector indicted in New Jersey on criminal charges in the “JW” case.
Autumn, 2000 Marc Collins-Rector, Chad Shackley and Brock Pierce leave the USA and remain incommunicado and at large for at least several months.
November 2000
“Last Pixel Show” article published in ZDNet. Details lawsuits against DEN founders, frustrations of lawyers, law enforcement at being unable to find them. Plaintiff “Daniel S” details sex crimes, drugging and death threats perpetrated by DEN founders in this article.
February 2001
Default Judgement awarded in Civil Suits against Marc Collins Rector, Colin Shackley and Brock Pierce since the 3 are unable to be located to stand trial. Reported in the L.A. Times. Brock Pierce remains “unaware” of these proceedings.
March, 2001
Suit against DEN founders expanded to include other business associates.
At this point, 9 months after the lawsuits were initially filed there are multiple stories in the LA Times detailing the allegations and naming Pierce as a defendant. There is also an article in ZDNet detailing the allegations and the frustrations at Pierce’s own counsel being unable to reach him, yet he maintains that he was “unaware” of the lawsuits.
Part 2, Spain, IGE, Arrests and Criminal Charges
Late 2000 / Early 2001
Marc Collins Rector, Colin Shackley and Brock Pierce take up residence Marbella, Spain. This is detailed in an article written in 2008 by Julian Dibbell in Wired magaizine, “The Decline and Fall of an Ultra Rich Gaming Empire”, and a criminal complaint filed by Brock Pierce’s IGE business partner, Alan Debonneville.
According to Dibbell, Pierce claims he does not live with Marc Collins Rector and Colin Shackley. According to Alan Debonneville, the 3 share a home. They had an Everquest guid together as well, which they use to make contact with Debonneville to hire him to work for a new venture they are forming.
May 2001
Brock Pierce launches IGE, his second venture. Continuing business association with Marc Collins Rector and Colin Shackey described in Julian Dibbell’s article (“Pierce introduced him to Collins-Rector and Shackley, explained that the three of them had made millions, and invited Debonneville to join him now in making millions more”).
This contradicts Brock Pierce’s May 2014 statement to Two-Bit Idiot / Ryan Selkis that he cut ties with Marc Collins-Rector after the failure of their “initial venture.” Despite the launch of this new venture, Pierce’s American associates remain unable to contact him about lawsuits brought against them seeking damages on his behalf.
May 2002
Brock Pierce, Chad Shackley and Marc Collins-Rector arrested in Spain in a raid on their home. Spanish Police find them with “enormous amounts of child pornography” in the home.
Summer 2002, Colin Shackley and Brock Pierce are released from Spanish jail.
Summer 2002, charges against Marc Collins Rector in New Jersey “J.W.” case are made public. Extradition proceedings begin with Spanish law enforcement.
According to Debonneville’s original legal complaint (also reported by Julian Dibbell) Pierce spends this time trying to get Collins-Rector out of prison, going so far as to travel to Liberia to bribe / purchase an ambassadorship for Collins-Rector which would grant him diplomatic immunity.
Pierce did not provide any details about this time in his life when I asked him about it on Twitter. There are at least 5 months before the summary judgement that the lawsuits are being written about in mainstream press, and 3 other DEN executives who are brought into the suits shortly thereafter. During this time, Brock Pierce is not living in some remote place without access to communication, he is launching an online business in Spain, so it strains credibility that nobody in America would have been able to reach him to inform him of the lawsuits as he claims. There’s no indication that he returns to the USA at any time before Marc Collins-Rector is released from Spanish jail, extradited and charged in New Jersey.
