New US Attorney General Backed a Crypto Scam That Promised Time Travel

 Last week, US President Donald  Trump named former Iowa US Attorney Matthew G. Whitaker as the new  Attorney General (AG), following the resignation of Jeff Sessions.  

Whitaker has already come under scrutiny for prior business deals which  were allegedly fraudulent, including one cryptocurrency project that  touted time travel. This recent criticism stems from Whitaker's  involvement with a Miami Beach-based firm called World Patent Marketing. 

The marketing firm reportedly  charged inventors large fees to promote their creations to a mainstream  audience regardless of the plausiblity or feasiblity the invention, and  WPM would promote it as groundbreaking technology. Among the unusual promotions the  company ran was for a “Masculine Toilet,” which claimed to be specially  designed for “well-endowed men,” as well a campaign that cited "DNA  evidence" of Bigfoot's existence for an invention called "Sasquatch  Dolls." 

Time Travel Tied to Bitcoin

Cryptocurrency investors were  interested to learn that the company also promoted a "time travel  commodity" that was tied to Bitcoin. According to Mother Jones,  the project was called "Time Travel X" and was promoted as a  “theoretical time travel commodity tied directly to the price of  Bitcoin.” In the promotion of the project, Scott Cooper, CEO and Creative Director of World Patent Marketing told reporters that: 

“There is no doubt in my mind that Bitcoin is a permanent presence  within the on-line retail system. This is no fad. It is one of the most  important innovations in money and currency since the invention of the  money mint.  As a matter of fact, we are launching Time Travel  Technologies in the second quarter of this year  We will be introducing  the theoretical time travel commodity tied the price of Bitcoin.”   

Time Travel X never materialized,  a pattern that was familiar for WPM. Last year, WPM was shut down by a  federal judge and fined $26 million after the Federal Trade Commission  determined that the company, “bilked thousands of consumers out of millions of dollars.” 

Whitaker was an integral part of  the team and was accused of using his position as a US attorney to  defend the firm from critics. According to a report this week from the Washington Post, Whitaker used his legal credentials to threaten and intimidate opponents of the company. In a 2014 press release, Whitaker defended the actions of the firm. Whitaker said: 

“As a former US Attorney, I would only align myself with a first  class organization. World Patent Marketing goes beyond making statements  about doing business ‘ethically’ and translate[s] those words into  action.”   

This week, four Democrat House Representatives announced an investigation into Whitaker’s part in World Patent Marketing.