Mozido
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Mozido was a US mobile payments and fintech startup founded in 2005. It built mobile payments and financial-services platforms and raised about $250 million from investors including MasterCard, Wellington Management and Tiger Management's Julian Robertson Jr., with the company claiming a $2.2 billion valuation in October 2014. The company collapsed after its founder, Michael Liberty, was charged by the SEC in 2018 with a long-running scheme to trick hundreds of investors into putting more than $48 million into his shell companies instead of Mozido, misappropriating most of it for private jets, mansions and movie production; in January 2017 Mozido had already promised to sell its last remaining revenue-generating business unit to repay creditors.
02 / Mozido FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
Mozido's collapse was fraud-driven. Michael Liberty, its de facto founder-officer, used shell companies such as 'Mozido Invesco' to raise money through promissory notes he represented as vehicles for investing in Mozido — but the shells did not own transferable interests in the company, and he lied about Mozido's valuation and finances. Liberty and accomplices (including his wife, his cousin and attorney George Marcus) raised more than $55 million from 2010 to 2017 and stole most of it; investors were duped into trading securities for ones worth more than 90% less. Meanwhile the business was performing poorly, its executives Todd Bradley and Scott Ellyson departed, and the company sold its last revenue unit to repay creditors. Liberty pleaded guilty in 2016 to illegal campaign contributions and the SEC charged him with securities fraud in 2018.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Company founded
Mozido is founded as a mobile payments and fintech startup.
- Peak valuation
Mozido raises from investors including MasterCard and Julian Robertson Jr.; the company claimed a $2.2 billion valuation.
- Collapse
In January 2017 Mozido promises to sell its last remaining revenue-generating business unit to repay creditors; executives depart.
- Fraud charges
On March 30, 2018 the SEC charges founder Michael Liberty with a scheme to defraud hundreds of investors of more than $48 million through shell companies.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
The SEC alleged that Liberty and accomplices raised more than $48 million ($55 million from 2010 to 2017) from hundreds of investors through shell companies and stole most of it to fund a lavish lifestyle — but those are defrauded investor funds, not an audited corporate loss with disclosed subject, period and basis. No reliable company loss figure was extracted.