> used "round trip" transfers of investor and lender funds -- meaning they sent money to purported customers, who then returned it to iLearning -- to manufacture revenue.

They should’ve instead “bought stake” in the customer companies and then asked them to use that money to buy their “product” like the normal trillion dollar companies do.

This was kind of the scam in season four of Industry which was loosely based on Wirecard scandal. Obligatory New Yorker story: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/03/06/how-the-bigges...

There is probably some phrase for describing this type of business activity. "If it's sophisticated it's actually legal" (no fault settlement). As a limited legalist this is actually the way it works and it's somewhat normal. A better lawyer provides better advice and steers company activity towards more defensible practice. If all the major ai players want to set money on fire for totally unmaintainable hobbies then so be it.