Evan Blass, former Engadget editor and behind the famous leaking account @Evleaks has been surrounded by a IndiGoGo scam. Evan is a top notch journalist and one of the top leakers of this generation, but Evan was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis a little over a decade ago. Evan announced he would retire from leaking in August of 2014 because he couldn’t properly monetized his Twitter stream. Tk Tech News, a Youtuber, set up a IndieGoGo fund for Evan to cover his medical bills and daily life expenses.
The fund raised $9,275 spread across Paypal donations and credit card donations. The Paypal donations flowed straight into Even’s account, however the credit card donations were supposed to be released once the campaign closed on September 18, 2014. The campaign featured fishy rewards like prototype phones, unlocked LG phones, and a shutout on Fox Sports. The campaign finished on time, and Tk and his wife appears to have ran off with the money from all the credit card donations. The credit card donations amount to nearly half of the nearly $9,300, which was a blow to those who donated and Evan himself.
The massive fraud is a little fishery if you dig in. Tk Tech News or Myles O’Connor or Thomas Connors, is a serial con-artist and grifter. TK has went on a full fledged campaign to discredit Evan by fabricating lies and eccentric stories of how he’s under a federal investigation. While some of these stories held weight at first they have become thin and are on the edge now. TK has a criminal record from the state of Florida for impersonating a Department of Homeland Security agent, and attempted murder of a law enforcement officer.
TK Tech News has started rebranding his channel to Total Tech or Way too Far Games. He has also changed his Instagram account to private and erased his Twitter of everything. His new channels feature reviews of the hottest new phones, smart watches, and other gadgets. His videos don’t show his face, nor does he say his real name.
To help prevent Thomas, or better know as TK, we need to get the word out about what he has done and help prevent him from doing this to anyone else. The backers who donated to the IndieGoGo campaign needs to file a claim with IndieGoGo for a refund. This can should be done by anyone who donated whether they donated via credit card or PayPal. While IndieGoGo doesn’t participate or help in these cases the funders and Even could file a lawsuit against Tk.
There has been a lot of misinformation coming from both sides, but in the end Tk has scammed hundreds of people out of their money in a horrible way. He exploited Evan and used his mounting medical bills as a way to make some quick money. This fraud case shows how IndieGoGo needs to better support the people who back campaigns, and ensure the community is safe in the end.
We searched on the claims that Evan was under federal investigation, however after request for information on this we haven’t found anything. The request for records on Thomas Walter Connors does show he has a record for crimes on attempted murder of a federal officer. He served 8 years in a federal prison and now he exploited someone with a MS and struggling to make it day to day.
If you have anymore information tell us in the comments below, and tell us what you think about the whole situation in the comments below. Also follow Evan Blass on Twitter for updates and ways to help him discredit TK in the continued fight against him.