Jon Mills, the founder and former CEO of real-world analytics startup Motionloft, has been arrested by the FBI, the bureau has confirmed. The arrest follows allegations that Mills lied to investors about an acquisition of his company, all while spending lavishly on private jets, expensive dinners, and parties with celebrities.
In late December, we published a story detailing how friends and other contacts had written a series of checks to invest in Motionloft in the first half of the year. Sources tell us that later in the year, Mills had bragged to friends about an acquisition of the company, a claim that ended up not being true.
That didn’t stop Mills from going on a series of expensive trips with friends, according to our sources, even booking private jets and a penthouse suite in Las Vegas for one particularly extravagant weekend that involved a private performance by R&B singer Miguel.
But at the same time that Mills was partying in Vegas and at music festivals like Coachella, things were coming undone at the company he was seeking investment for. We have learned that behind the scenes, morale was low and Motionloft was having trouble paying its bills.
Beginning as early as March 2013, payroll was slipping regularly, with Mills offering up cashiers checks and even handwritten checks as payment to employees. According to one source who had been employed at Motionloft, the company even had some of its furniture disappear one day, although it’s unclear if it had been sold or repossessed.
Things came to a head after a Vegas trip in November, in which several of the friends who invested in Motionloft began to question when they would get their piece of the acquisition. But after questioning investor and board member Marc Cuban, they were told that there was no acquisition in place.
Things have been relatively quiet since December, but today two of our sources reached out independently to tell us the FBI had arrested Mills. A representative from the local FBI field office confirmed that Mills had been arrested yesterday “without incident” and that he is scheduled to appear in District Court Friday morning.
It’s not clear what charges have been made against him yet, but charging documents are expected to be filed soon and made available at that hearing. We’ll follow up when we know more.
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