A Washington state court judgment marks the first time the operator of a successful Kickstarter got fined for failing to follow-through.
Washington State Attorney Bob Ferguson filed a lawsuit in April of 2014 against a Nashville-based company, Nashville, Altius Management, which had failed to deliver a deck of cards marketed on Kickstarter in Sept. 2012.
The campaign was successfully funded to the tune of $25,146, and the cards were to be designed by Serbian artist Milan C. The decks were supposed to be sent to pledgers by Christmas 2012.
Nothing ever turned up, though, and with no official word from Altius after a blog post in early 2013, Ferguson went after it, and executive Edward J. Polchlopek III, in court.
"Washington state will not tolerate crowdfunding theft," Bob Ferguson wrote in a press release. "If you accept money from consumers, and don't follow through on your obligations, my office will hold you accountable."
