Kickstarter Campaign for 3D Printer Raises $500,000, Business Partner Uses Half to Build a House

Kickstarter Campaign for 3D Printer Raises $500,000, Business Partner Uses Half to Build a House
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Editorial Staff
May 11, 2016
Another Kickstarter
In 2013, the Peachy Printer, marketed as the first $100 3D printer and scanner, successfully raised over $500,000 on Kickstarter and almost $60,000 on Indiegogo. Like any crowdfunding campaign, Peachy Printer promised to start shipping the actual product to backers in a matter of months.
In the three years since, backers haven’t received their product, but that isn’t the worst news — it was recently revealed that one of the business partners of the product,  David Boe, had embezzled at least $250,000 from the campaign and used it to build himself a house, according to Digital Trends.
David Boe (left) confesses on camera to embezzling funds.
After many campaign updates since 2013 that made no indication of any issues, Peachy Printer co-founder Rylan Grayston was finally tasked with the duty of informing campaign backers that Boe had embezzled nearly half of the raised funds two years ago in a shocking video called “Update #64 Big Bad News.”
It’s a big deal for backers who donated up to $500 and Grayston is now urging them to contact the local police over the matter.
Apparently, the funds Boe embezzled went to building a house in Saskatchwan, Canada. After the kickstarter for the 3D printer had ended, Boe and Grayston had not yet opened a new corporate account for the company so Boe deposited all the money into his personal bank account.
When that corporate account was open, Boe only transferred about $155,000 back to the company — the rest of the money had reportedly been spent by March 2014.
Grayston claims that Boe guaranteed he would repay the remaining sum with interest. The money is intended to help Peachy Printer further develop, manufacture and deliver its products to their backers based on their promise.
Grayston says that Boe has repaid $83,000 and is coordinating with a lawyer to have Boe make the remaining payments. However, to keep the Peachy Printer dream alive, he has reached out to family members for a loan, attained government funding and is finding other investors.
Perhaps, the Peachy Printer will be a reality one day, but most likely not for many more years.
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