Jury Convicts ‘Silicon Valley’s Party Animal’ of Defrauding Investors of Millions of Dollars

Michael Brent Rothenberg, a former San Francisco venture capitalist who has been dubbed “Silicon Valley’s Party Animal” by Bloomberg, was convicted by a federal jury of wire fraud, money laundering, bank fraud, and making false statements to a bank, according to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office Northern District of California. Evidence introduced at the trial established that Mr. Rothenberg’s schemes resulted in approximately $18.8 million in missing money. The prosecution is the result of a lengthy investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation. Evidence at trial showed that Mr. Rothenberg founded a venture capital management company, Rothenberg Ventures Management Company LLC (RVMC), which he used between 2012 and 2018 to raise and manage four annual venture capital funds. The purpose of the funds was to invest in Silicon Valley startup companies, particularly in the field of virtual reality technologies....