An investment firm in the United States, Ripplewood Advisors, has reported a case of suspected fraud to the FBI after fraudulent individuals published a fake announcement on the London Stock Exchange concerning a $1 billion (£800 million) investment in the creator of ChatGPT.
Ripplewood Advisors contacted law enforcement officials in the US after the hoax press release was discovered on the LSE’s website and other news platforms on Monday.
The fraudulent release stated that Ripplewood had invested $1 billion in OpenAI, the American company responsible for the creation of ChatGPT, and was published on the LSE website’s news feed via EQS, a German financial news publishing service.
According to the release, Ripplewood, a New York-based company established 28 years ago, intended to utilize ChatGPT technology for making investment decisions and predicting trends. It claimed that investors would benefit from improved market forecasting accuracy through the use of artificial intelligence.
The LSE promptly removed the announcement from its website after being notified by EQS. “We were made aware of a potentially inaccurate press release being displayed on the LSE website and other news platforms,” stated a spokesperson.
“The non-regulatory press release originated from one of our newswire partners, and upon receiving notification from them, the press release was deleted from our website,” added the spokesperson.
EQS deactivated the account responsible for the release and initiated a further investigation. The account had previously issued an announcement claiming that Ripplewood was expanding its operations in Europe.
“EQS is a technical provider and bears no responsibility for the content distributed. Due to the negative feedback received after today’s publication, we have immediately deactivated the user’s account. We will pursue further investigation,” said a spokesperson from EQS.
The LSE website automatically publishes press releases from various providers, including EQS, PR Newswire, and Business Wire, in addition to regulated announcements from listed companies.
Ripplewood, a former private equity firm that held stakes in Reader’s Digest and bakery company Hostess Brands, has engaged legal counsel in an effort to remove the suspected impersonators who are potentially using the company’s name to solicit investments.
Last month, an unaffiliated website for “Ripplewood Equity” was established in both German and English. EQS published a separate press release stating that Ripplewood was opening multiple new offices across Europe. The website listed a Spanish phone number and email address, but both went unanswered.
Based in San Francisco, OpenAI is one of the most highly sought-after investments in the technology sector, following the viral success of ChatGPT. It is currently valued at up to $29 billion.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
