Persona Fanzine Head Mod Admits To Stealing $27,000 From Fans, Spent It In Genshin Impact
A head moderator has been removed from a Persona 5 fanzine after allegedly embezzling over $27,000 CAD from the project to spend in Genshin Impact.
"Showtime is a fan anthology focusing on the rivalry between Joker and Crow of Persona 5 featuring illustrations, comics, and fanfiction," reads the site description. The project began on commerce site Etsy and has over 1500 pre-orders. Unfortunately, just over half of the complete magazines were mailed before the project ran out of money for postage of the remaining pre-orders.
Related: Leaving Genshin Impact Behind Was The Best Decision I Ever Made
According to Showtime's statement, former head moderator Ree misappropriated project funds for personal use, emptying the account of $27,625.10 CAD. The moderation team said that Ree went as far as providing "misleading and out of date banking screenshots to suggest all funds were available," when in actuality the account had been totally exhausted over several months. Only after requests for postage were rejected did Ree confess to appropriating the funds.
Ree has since been removed from Showtime and has returned $3,000 to the project. However, Showtime is unable to take further legal action as the moderators did not have formal contracts with Ree and all funding was processed through Ree's Etsy and personal bank accounts.
Although not explicitly stated, responses to Showtime's announcement confirm Ree spent the bulk of the money on Genshin Impact.
"We are heartbroken to be in this position, and we thank you for your patience as we work hard to salvage the situation Ree's actions have left us in," Showtime wrote. "We hope you will support our fundraiser and also our wonderful contributors, who deserved so much better."
Modera
Read more on thegamer.com
