Left Behind Games Accused of Scam

The SEC accuses the developer of operating a “revenue inflation scheme”.

Remember that Left Behind: Eternal Forces game from 2006, the one that even Christians didn’t like? Well, while no one was paying attention, the developer, Left Behind Games, secretly released three more, culminating with Left Behind 4: World At War in 2011. Despite not having released any games since then, the publicly traded organization was all set to report a 1,300% increase in revenue until the US Securities and Exchange Commision stepped in and called bullshit on the whole venture.

The SEC alleges that the sudden spike in revenue stems from Left Behind Games CEO and CFO Troy Lyndon handing almost two billion stock shares to a Ronald Zaucha as compensation for consultation. The plan was to then have Zaucha sell it all immediately, funnelling $1 million back to Left Behind Games, keeping $1.28 million for himself. Apparently, they tried the exact same thing in 2009, where the duo earned a total of $4.6 million. Meanwhile, the SEC argues that Zaucha “performed few, if any consulting services.”

If that’s not enough, it seems the entire company shut down in 2011, when it fired all of its employees and shut down its offices. Since then, Lyndon and Zaucha have apparently been using the company’s corpse as a front to scam investors.

“Lyndon and Zaucha’s scheme duped investors into believing Left Behind Games was becoming a successful enterprise when it was struggling to stay afloat,” said Michele Wein Layne, Director of the SEC’s Los Angeles Office. “Lyndon essentially gave Zaucha stock in exchange for phony revenue streams that created an inaccurate portrait of the company’s financial health.”

In the meanwhile, you can still order Left Behind 4 at the special price of $27.77, but I wouldn’t expect a prompt delivery.

Source: SEC