NEWS
February 7, 2014 | By Booth Moore, Los Angeles Times Fashion Critic
Los Angeles-based designer and 2013 CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund runner-up JC Obando showed his fall 2014 collection in grand style Thursday night at the Academy Mansion on the Upper East Side during New York Fashion Week. And as models glided through the flower-filled halls, wearing the designer's floating, silk separates, it conjured images of bohemian socialites and artistes entertaining at home. There was no inspiration statement or run of show because, as Obando, who launched his label in 2007, explained, "When you create a brand, you no longer need show notes to explain who you are. You reach that point in your career.
BUSINESS
February 4, 2014 | Bloomberg News
Ross William Ulbricht was indicted Tuesday on charges that he operated the billion-dollar Silk Road website where customers used Bitcoins to buy and sell drugs. The indictment for Ulbricht, 29, who authorities said was known by his Internet moniker "Dread Pirate Roberts," includes a new charge, of engaging in a "continuing criminal enterprise. " The count carries a maximum life sentence and a mandatory minimum term of 20 years, said Preet Bharara, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan. Ulbricht was also indicted on previous charges of conspiracy to commit computer hacking and conspiracy to launder money.
BUSINESS
January 27, 2014 | By Andrew Tangel and Chris O'Brien
NEW YORK - The federal government has arrested one of the biggest names in the bitcoin community in the latest crackdown on digital currencies and their illicit use. Charlie Shrem, chief executive of digital currency exchange BitInstant, stands accused with a Florida man of laundering money through a notorious drug-trafficking website. Shrem is also vice chairman of the Bitcoin Foundation, a nonprofit group aimed at promoting the digital currency. He and codefendant Robert M. Faiella of Cape Coral, Fla., are accused of selling more than $1 million worth of bitcoins to people attempting to buy and sell illegal drugs on the Silk Road website, which the FBI shut down in October.
BUSINESS
January 27, 2014 | By Chris O'Brien
The chief executive of a Bitcoin startup backed by the Winklevoss twins was arrested Monday and charged with laundering money through a notorious drug-trafficking site. The Department of Justice said that it had charged Robert M. Faiella and Charlie Shrem with selling $1 million worth of Bitcoins to people attempting to buy and sell drugs on the Silk Road black market website. PHOTOS: 10 ways to use the sharing economy Shrem is CEO of BitInstant, a Bitcoin exchange that counts the Winklevoss twins as its investors.
NEWS
November 6, 2013 | By Laura E. Davis
Just over a month after the illicit drug-dealing website Silk Road was shut down and its alleged founder arrested, the site relaunched Wednesday morning. The new Silk Road promises better security and is offering much of the same fare as its predecessor -- heroin, ecstasy and prescription medications purchased using the online currency Bitcoin , which is designed to be untraceable. Authorities arrested Ross William Ulbricht on Oct. 1, accusing the 29-year-old of building an illegal drug empire on the deep Web, that part of the Internet not reachable by standard search engines.
NEWS
October 25, 2013 | By Adam Tschorn
Disney princess-inspired gowns by Versace, Valentino, Missoni and Oscar de la Renta are now up for bid online in a Christie's benefit auction. Online bidding for the 10 "princess dresses," which started Oct. 18, is in advance of a live auction scheduled for Nov. 13, which will raise money for the London-based Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity . The dresses, which were originally part of a holiday 2012 Harrods window display,...