Infinium Labs in trouble

By Games Industry.biz Published 1 November, 2005

Is Phantom still coming?

Infinium Labs, the company behind the long-delayed Phantom games-on-demand service, is being investigated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission over alleged legal violations and unpaid taxes.

The SEC has announced plans to bring charges against former CEO Tim Roberts for violating federal securities law. Although specific details of the charges were not revealed, Infinium has said it believes they are connected with a recent SEC enquiry into "phony fax scams," where penny stocks were illegally advertised to investors.

The SEC also claims that Infinium did not keep accurate payroll and tax records during Roberts' reign, and owes fines and interest payments to the tune of USD 1.2 million.

Kevin Bachus, who took over from Roberts in August, said the company is not at risk of collapse as a result, and that Infinium is planning to work out a payment schedule with the IRS. Speaking to US website Gamespot, he said that this is "part of a process that's designed to address any deficiencies that exist."

"Evidently, as part of their investigation, the SEC has concluded that Tim [Roberts] has done something wrong. We don't know what it was. I don't know if Tim even knows what it was."

Bachus said Infinium had now "looked at everything can we can think to look at" and didn't expect to find anything more - "But I didn't expect to find this, either," he added.

The future of the Phantom is now in doubt once again. Back in May Bachus said that the system would launch in the US "later this year", but that's looking increasingly unlikely. He's also previously confirmed that the system would be coming to Europe - but a release date is yet to be announced. Infinium was unavailable for comment at the time of writing.

Picture of Games.

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Comments (22) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Teeth #1 6 years ago

    Anyone who believed the crap this company was peddling deserves what they get.

  • Lothar Hex #2 6 years ago

    Oh it was all a scam and we fucking know it.

  • Empedocles #3 6 years ago

    Sooooo predictable

  • skillian #4 6 years ago

    Phantom - what an deliciously appropriate name.

  • djchump #5 6 years ago

    Anyone want to invest in my new company.. VapourWare (tm) ?
    We're thinking of launching a handheld game device that will be shit.

  • Blerk #6 6 years ago

    Did anyone actually want one, though? Where are the Phantom fanboys? :-)

  • DaM #7 6 years ago

    djchump - I'm a top Venture Capitalist guy, who knows squat about games, you've sold me. Do you take cheques? I have 5 mill knocking about, I'll fire it over.

  • MrGrumpy.au #8 6 years ago

    djchump, is the handheld called Gizmondo? :-)


    Back to Infinium Labs...

    They had a picture on their website a year or two ago where there was a picture of a child supposedly playing Quake 3 on the Phantom. Well not exactly, they forgot to disclose that the Phantom was really just an empty box with a Dreamcast hiding behind the TV playing Q3. lol

  • Sko #9 6 years ago

    "Phantom - what an deliciously appropriate name."

    *ticks B7 on his Predictable Comment bingo card* ;)

  • MoFo #10 6 years ago

    ahh Sko, you're just jealous he beat you to it.

  • pantherboy #11 6 years ago

    Some one should put this company out of their misery, like an animal run over on the high way that everyone shakes thier head at - have mercy and shoot the thing for crying out loud.

    /I scare myself sometimes

  • apolloscollapse #12 6 years ago

    Thats a motorway not a highway! ;)

  • djchump #13 6 years ago

    DaM- Great stuff! The board of directors at VapourWare (tm) Towers needs venture capitalists such as yourselves to fund our monthly cocaine and whores. We also need shiny new cars. Please send the capital in small, non-sequential bills to our off-shore tax haven. Welcome on-board!

    MrGrumpy.au - Nope! We would never infringe on the intellectual property of our friends over at Gizmondo - they are all great lads who are also members of our exclusive executive car club.
    Our new handheld device will break new territory in the convergence world of high-throughput media bollocks. Our cutting-edge JizzMondo-Gage (c)(r) will not only function as a wireless, fully-3D games console, but will come with PDA, GPRS, SOUL, SWALK, WTF and feature a fully-functinal CAT-scanner and 12 litre refrigerator, for keeping those all important game-beers cold!

  • prettyboytim #14 6 years ago

    The reason they've had to wait is that they've committed to have Duke Nukem Forever as a launch title...

  • Sko #15 6 years ago

    "ahh Sko, you're just jealous he beat you to it."

    Heh. I saw the article go up with no comments and made a bet with myself that someone would make the name reference. I was just surprised it happened so early, to be honest. :)

  • Hunam85 #16 6 years ago

    STALKER is the new DNF

  • Xerx3s #17 6 years ago

    When ISNT it in trouble.

  • 3william56 #18 6 years ago

    In trouble for dodgy faxes and no taxes?
    As opposed to talking complete b*ll*cks?

    There's no justice.

  • PuffyPipe #19 6 years ago

    This was the start of the unraveling of the company when [H]ard|OCP looked a little closer at the people running the company and Infinium Labs CEO Tim Roberts was not happy with the story http://w ww.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NTEy

    After that Infinium Labs sought legal advice about the story and dragged the web magazine site through the courts. I belive that [H]ard|OCP won and now the government and investors want to know where around 16 million in there money went.

    Its a mess and if you read all [H]ard|OCP story it is amazing how some companys are run.

  • urban #20 6 years ago

    god bless [H] for showing this one up

  • Flightrisker #21 6 years ago

    This has to be the longest running April Fool's Joke since Christianity



    /hides

  • vandy404 #22 6 years ago

    If anyone wants to delve a little deeper into this mess you'd do well to check this article. It gives a pretty in depth account of the Rise and fall of Infinium.