A federal judge sentenced Jeff Tran, a former director of sports marketing at Microsoft, to 28 months in prison for wire fraud at the U.S. District Court in Seattle on Friday. This past January, Tran pleaded guilty to wire fraud and attempting to steal more than $1.5 million from his former employer using stolen Super Bowl tickets and fake invoices. In addition to the prison time, Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo Martinez also fined Tran $50,000. Prosecutors previously recommended a maximum of three years in prison as part of the plea deal. Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20… Read More
Jeff Tran, a former director of sports marketing at Microsoft, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and attempting to steal more than $1.5 million from his former employer using stolen Super Bowl tickets and fake invoices. As part of his job, Tran was in charge of distributing Super Bowl tickets to Microsoft employees. Tran acquired and sold 63 game tickets and 93 tailgate tickets for a $208,200 profit, according to the guilty plea. In one transaction, he pocketed $12,400 after convincing a Microsoft colleague to buy tickets paid for by the company. According to court records, Tran issued two fake invoices worth… Read More
Two Microsoft veterans are building apps to help people put down their mobile devices and engage with others in the real world through sports. Seattle-based Mavengo, which launched in 2016, helps sports enthusiasts find and communicate with other players and set up games and matches. The software uses artificial intelligence to manage the monotonous task of organizing and scheduling games and re-matching the winners and losers. Co-founder and CEO Imran Aziz calls it a “personal assistant for sports.” The startup last year raised $400,000 and has been testing an initial version of its app for squash players at three Seattle-area… Read More
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with details from the Sounders’ event announcing Zulily as its new jersey sponsor. [Follow up: From Microsoft to Zulily: Why the Sounders teamed up with Seattle e-commerce company that aims for rebrand] Microsoft Xbox may be out as the Seattle Sounders jersey sponsor, and rumors are swirling about which company will take its place. The Major League Soccer club is hosting an event on Thursday at noon to reveal an “important club announcement,” believed to be a new jersey sponsor. It teased the announcement on social media late Wednesday, and buzz points to another… Read More
Russell Wilson may have inadvertently invented the geekiest touchdown celebration of the NFL season. The Seattle Seahawks quarterback was on the sidelines reviewing past plays on a Microsoft Surface tablet when his team’s defense forced a fumble and returned it for a touchdown, clinching a big 21-7 win over Minnesota during a primetime Monday Night Football game at CenturyLink Field. The cameras caught Wilson’s celebration, which involved the former Microsoft spokesperson dropping the tablet as if he was doing a mic drop. Russell drops the Microsoft Surface on @Vikings #vikings #dropthesurface sierrra wilson #MINvsSEA @nfl @espn @NFL_MNF @MNF pic.twitter.com/4DgxXYu0pu —… Read More
