One of the biggest misrepresentations by the government at the I2G trial was its claim that the I2G products were worthless and ineffective. Evidence presented during the trial showed that Rick Maike had paid Rocky Wright, the owner of the i2G Touch/Qubeey software and Songstagram, over $800,000 to develop these products. Both technologies were created by Jason Reeves, who testified that his products were of high quality and usability. Emails between Reeves and Maike were used as evidence that added features demands by Maike were not complete. The added features, however included demands for Chinese translations and did not impact the core functionality. Reeves responded to emails that the work was complete.
Substantial testimony highlighted the investments, time, and money surrounding the products, including pre-I2G Touch investments exceeding ten million dollars made by an early investor. Despite many product training videos demonstrating the viability and functionality of the products, William Keep was allowed to testify regarding a pre-Touch Queebey video in which the software was offered for free. Additionally, hearsay emails from several non-witnesses who complained about the product were admitted as evidence, suggesting that the product did not work. One notable example was an early email from Ricardo Ferrari listing his grievances about the product. The defense did not address the fact that Riccardo Ferrari was later featured in the Beast video in government exhibits praising I2G, Rick Maike, and the I2G Touch products, claiming the technology was amazing and ahead of its time. Hearsay from these emails, originating from non-witnesses, was relied upon as proof throughout the trial, even though the emails had been ruled inadmissible for proving the “truth of the matter.”
Acquisition paperwork for Songstagram and Rocky Wright assets, including the I2G Touch/Qubeey technology, indicated that an undisclosed sum of money had been paid to Rocky Wright, which could not be repaid. The agreement also allocated $1 million worth of stock at $2.00 per share to be distributed to claimants, which included Maike as an 18.5% owner. This indicated another $ 2 million in payments intended for the claimants of the Songstagram technology. Maike’s name appears in the section B of the SEC acquisition filings on page eighteen. A separate agreement indicated that Maike paid Wright $250,000 for his share of Songstagram. The claim that the I2G products had no value was false.
BBooth later utilized the Songstagram technology and contracted with American Idol to record auditions in kiosks across shopping malls. There are numerous videos of BBooth showcasing the Songstagram technology. The owner, Rory Cutaia, has videos demonstrating the I2G Touch/Qubeey “walk out” technology which was rebranded as “BNotify.” The video walk-out and push notification feature demos to increase social engagement have the with same celebrity Chris Brown promotions used with the I2G Touch. In 2017 Cutaia capitalized the i2G Touch/Quebeey walk-out technology for use in a CRM with push notifications termed the “B-Notify” technology. The announcements led to an increase in the share value of BBooth stock (BBTH), suggesting that the combined worth of the Quebeey/I2G Touch and Songstagram technology was in the tens of millions of dollars. Subsequently, BBooth was acquired by NFusz, a public company listed on Nasdaq. This acquisition implies that the I2G Touch and Songstagram technology became a part of companies valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars. However, the i2G Court did not permit any of the extensive valuation documents to be presented at trial. The jury was simply informed by Keep and the government that the products were worthless.