CEO of smartphone company that won Innovation Award in 2015 charged with fraud

The CEO of the US-based smartphone company Saygus has been charged with fraud. Saygus is the company that showcased the ‘most-innovative’ smartphone at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) tradeshow held in 2015. CES tradeshow is held annually at Las Vagas in the US. According to the Justice Department, the company’s CEO Chad Leon Sayers asked approximately 300 investors to invest $10 million in Saygus, promising “imminent billion-dollar success” with the launch of a revolutionary new smartphone. However, Sayers used these funds to pay for his personal expenses and old investors.

As per a report in The Verge, Sayers allegedly spent $2.17 million of the money raised on office rent, about $800,000 of the funds to settle other lawsuits, $500,000 on legal fees, $145,000 on shopping, entertainment, and personal care, and about $30,000 on his personal credit card.