I transferred my codebase before payment. Don't make my mistake.

A Pakistani software founder who built a $100K MRR AI SaaS over three years transferred his domain and full proprietary codebase to James De Berardine, Director of NOTO nightclub in Philadelphia, as part of a $200K acquisition. De Berardine made six written promises to fund a $30K deposit but paid only $1,000, retained the code for two months, and later called the transaction 'non-authentic,' claiming the code had 'no value' and threatening to delete it. The founder has filed complaints with the FBI IC3 and Pennsylvania authorities.

I am a Pakistani software founder who built a $100K MRR AI SaaS over three years. In May 2026, I negotiated a $200K acquisition with James De Berardine , Director of NOTO nightclub in Philadelphia. I transferred my domain and full proprietary codebase to his AWS environment in good faith. He made six written promises to fund a $30K deposit. He paid $1,000. He retained my code for two months while demanding endless diligence. When pressed to close, he called the transaction "non-authentic," claimed the code had "no value," and threatened to delete it. I have filed complaints with FBI IC3 and Pennsylvania authorities. Full documented timeline with screenshots of his own messages: