I don't know if people have seen this on reddit(cringe and rage) that a streamer by the name of ZilianOP pretended to be disabled to earn over $20,000 USD from donations and streaming earning while playing diablo.
on the 5th of April he got caught performing a miracle and standing up on camera.
His gf noticed what he did and tries to cover up with some crap story:
I would find it funny if it didn't take the money of people who were donating thinking they were trying to help him.
His twitch account has been banned but I guess he managed to keep all the money. Some links to the story:
People are scumbags. One of the reasons I don't donate unless it is through a reputable charity. I could never imagine being so low as to scam people out of their money. Lowest forms of life.
What a douchebag. But nevertheless, I hope the people who were being scammed learned their lesson and won't donate to something they know from hearsay.
It happens. This is why I avoid putting any actual resources into someone unless they're a friend (and thus I can hold them accountable for it). It's just a basic trust deal. You have to make sure that the people you're putting money into can be held accountable, or sooner or later you're going to set up an environment where scammers can do whatever they want.
I mean, it's not even cynicism. This is just how people operate. It just takes one asshole out of ten thousand to make things kinda awful.
Haha, what an idiot. Twitch being awesome as always. Their statement:
The Twitch broadcaster, Zilianop, did indeed have his channel closed and his partnership contract terminated on the basis of fraud. Moving forward, we'll be offering refunds to those who subscribed to his channel through Twitch. We have zero tolerance for this type of behavior and the character demonstrated in this situation is truly reprehensible. His actions are a huge slap in the face to Twitch community members with real disabilities such as Aieron, and groups such as AbleGamers, who have helped spread a message of inclusiveness and positivity to not only the Twitch community, but gaming as a whole.
On April 13 2013 00:47 mprs wrote: the fuck... are there any laws against this?
I'm not sure, I guess if someone lives in the same country as him they can sue him for fraud, but most likely there were loads of small donations, making it harder for any one individual to get their money back due to court costs etc.
The Twitch broadcaster, Zilianop, did indeed have his channel closed and his partnership contract terminated on the basis of fraud. Moving forward, we'll be offering refunds to those who subscribed to his channel through Twitch. We have zero tolerance for this type of behavior and the character demonstrated in this situation is truly reprehensible. His actions are a huge slap in the face to Twitch community members with real disabilities such as Aieron, and groups such as AbleGamers, who have helped spread a message of inclusiveness and positivity to not only the Twitch community, but gaming as a whole.
I agree. Its a shame as it could make people more skeptical when thinking of helping someone who actually could do with the help.
On April 13 2013 00:49 thezanursic wrote: I wonder what he was thinking at the moment when he left the chair?
I'm more curious what he was thinking after he came back. I'd think he would move often out of the chair and put on a different tab to block the view or something.
Just by watching the youtube clip (check OP), the girlfriend saw it and panicked pretty hard, rofl.
Props to twitch for banning his ass and the refunds.
Hopefully there are more repercussions towards this scumbag. Also I love how in the chat he tries to blame it on his dog pushing his chair over and that was him falling. LOL.
There was another issue where he got caught botting on stream and denied it only to revise his story later. After that I stopped watching. I never donated, but the way he handled the whole thing seemed extremely shady. Sorry for those that did donate, but at least he got what was coming.
I know that what he did was wrong but then again people believed him. Our worlds history if FILLED with scammers like him and they do it in person. He just did it on the internet.
What a loser. Sorry I can't think of any more intelligent comment. But I have to post, that gf sounds cute (though terribly stupid, what a horrible attempt at cover up).
On April 13 2013 01:01 SoOJuuu wrote: I know that what he did was wrong but then again people believed him. Our worlds history if FILLED with scammers like him and they do it in person. He just did it on the internet.
On April 13 2013 01:20 Technique wrote: Why would you donate towards a random guy in a wheelchair to begin with? I mean even if he really was in a wheelchair... i don't get it...
Because they feel bad for him. Its called empathy.
On April 13 2013 01:20 Technique wrote: Why would you donate towards a random guy in a wheelchair to begin with? I mean even if he really was in a wheelchair... i don't get it...
To help a "disabled" guy do what he loves for a living? Maybe you also enjoy his personality and gameplay. But this guy......Really, how pathetic of a person is he to scam people in this way....No honor, no shame....
On April 13 2013 01:20 Technique wrote: Why would you donate towards a random guy in a wheelchair to begin with? I mean even if he really was in a wheelchair... i don't get it...
Exactly.
If you really want to help disabled people, donate to a licensed charity.
On April 13 2013 00:46 feanor1 wrote: People are scumbags. One of the reasons I don't donate unless it is through a reputable charity. I could never imagine being so low as to scam people out of their money. Lowest forms of life.
Roughly 99% of the financial aid (collected through reputable charities) for Haiti went to US corporations.
On April 13 2013 00:46 feanor1 wrote: People are scumbags. One of the reasons I don't donate unless it is through a reputable charity. I could never imagine being so low as to scam people out of their money. Lowest forms of life.
Roughly 99% of the financial aid (collected through reputable charities) for Haiti went to US corporations.
On April 13 2013 01:20 Technique wrote: Why would you donate towards a random guy in a wheelchair to begin with? I mean even if he really was in a wheelchair... i don't get it...
Because they feel bad for him. Its called empathy.
I hope no single person donated too much. The situation's hilarious if a bunch of people are down only like $5 but if some people got significantly boned, it detracts from the funnies.
Even though we can all agree that donations are ultimately an individual responsibility, I don't think people should be bashing the donators. There are plenty of legitimate charity streams that shouldn't be discredited and end up taking collateral damage, and most of the time donations are simply a matter of trust.
On April 13 2013 01:36 Bibbit wrote: I hope no single person donated too much. The situation's hilarious if a bunch of people are down only like $5 but if some people got significantly boned, it detracts from the funnies.
he made over 30k, (some people say its as high as 80k) I think one person gave 5k
On April 13 2013 01:36 Bibbit wrote: I hope no single person donated too much. The situation's hilarious if a bunch of people are down only like $5 but if some people got significantly boned, it detracts from the funnies.
he made over 30k, (some people say its as high as 80k) I think one person gave 5k
Ouch, while I do feel bad for the donators ofc, the gif picture is hard not to laugh at
When I read this kinda stuff, amusement ain't the first thing that comes to my mind. He probably didn't care too terribly much about it, as he had already collected more than enough money to achieve his goal.
It seems like this is another case of stupid twitch subs. If you're subbing to a channel based solely on this person's believed "disabilities," don't be suprised when they just decide to stand up and go get a beer.
I would honestly like to go in the minds of people like this, what makes it ok for them to lie to people and steal their money? How does someone eventually think this ok and even TRY to cover it up.
Well I mean this is why you need to do research before you donate. I mean come on people, he scammed you good. You are just too gullible I'm sorry, but to a certain degree you deserved to get scammed.
That said he committed fraud and you could sue him.
Seriously sometimes people need to learn to keep their money to themselves or donate to a really good cause. Not to some disabled man playing diablo, I don't even care whether he's really disabled or not. I work whole day for my money I am not going to give it away to someone who plays whole day, period.
If one can play diablo whole day one can i.e. do translations or programming or design or other sitting-at-computer work or at least teach themselves something they can earn money from. I might even consider donation to i.e. an online school who would teach a disabled broken poor person Java programming. But playing diablo whole day? Don't make me laugh.
Not actually being disabled is just an icing on the rotten cake. Sorry if my message sounds too rude to those knights among you.
On April 13 2013 02:04 HwangjaeTerran wrote: I think the solution is to not have disabled people beg for donations in the first place.
It sounds a little harsh, but tbh I also do not really understand why having a disability means that people need donations? If anything one should donate to organisations / institutions that help disabled people in general. And not some random dude because he plays PC games.
When I read this kinda stuff, amusement ain't the first thing that comes to my mind. He probably didn't care too terribly much about it, as he had already collected more than enough money to achieve his goal.
Yes, it does make me smile. Being so incredibly stupid to make such a mistake. How can anyone with a decent level of intelligence be so fucking dumb. I have never heard of this guy before, nor would I have cared about him. Of course, it's a scam and everybody who donated to him should feel rightfully upset. But still, his face must have caved in after this incident.
One a side note though, as clearly as this a fucking scammer, as much anyone should be aware of the fact, that the media bombards you with lies each and every day. Just looking innocent, in need and helpless doesn't count for shit. It doesn't hurt to not believe every fool who looks sad, just because he looks sad and throws around a few buzz phrases. At least the people having gotten in contact with this dude will in the future be more cautious and it won't hurt them to do so.
But he should have to be held responsible for this scam, no? I mean this is a case of actual fraud, is it not? Or can it be dismissed as putting on a show, no matter what he pretended to be/have etc. and not be charged with it?
It sounds a little harsh, but tbh I also do not really understand why having a disability means that people need donations?
It sounds like a perfectly reasonable question tbh. Donations is not something one takes for granted, donations is something very kind of those donators, it's only natural to at least ask why before you even consider making a donation.
Yeah i remember this going out. The day after i was watching Sodapoppin's stream and we were going mad with LOLs of what he was doing. So stupid man xD
Must be a sad sad man to do shit like that. Hope guy actually gets run over now
And too people about the donations, if you are not familar with Twitch.TV, most people make money through streaming via donate buttons, im pretty sure his was set up like everyone else's to just make an income to keep streaming. I never watched his stream so i cannot confirm or deny that he said "donate to me and i will give it to disabled charities or if he said donate to me i am disabled". Im pretty sure people donated to him because they thought he was a good gamer (he played priest on wow i think) and liked his stream. I do believe he did get offered a really nice wheel chair though ^_^
LOL That's hilarious. The gf's reaction/all the half-assed coverup bs made it all the better. I remember watching his stream every now and then back when I was still playing D3. I tried asking him on quite a few different occasions how he'd come to be paralyzed, but he would never respond. Guy got what he deserves. Though it was bound to happen imo. Everyone fucks up occasionally, and streaming almost every day of the week for 2 years there's a decent chance you're going to slip up at some point, and all it took for him was once. I feel bad for the people who donated to him though, hopefully they get some kind of recompense.
That's too bad. I didn't donate but this guy gives real charities a bad name and while scamming by itself is horrible, scamming with the guise of charity is worse.
I really hope that something more can be done to this guy. The gaming community has done a lot of awesome things for a lot of people and I'd hate for that to stop due to increased skepticism and exploitation.
On April 13 2013 02:31 AnachronisticAnarchy wrote: I really hope that something more can be done to this guy. The gaming community has done a lot of awesome things for a lot of people and I'd hate for that to stop due to increased skepticism and exploitation.
if someone bothers to notify prosecution he's looking at a prison sentence and so does his girlfriend given there is enough evidence that he provoked most of the donations due to his alleged disability at least
and the victims of the scam can easily sue him for their donations.. though i doubt there is enough money lying around on his account.. so might take a while to get it all back
xD Their excuse was that he pushed off from his chair and fell. You can clearly see that he doesn't even have his hand on the chair and his body motion was supported by his legs and move continually up instead of the burst you'd see if he'd pushed off xD.
One Youtube comment (reliable source lol) claims that he's now facing jail time for fraud, but that's not possible, is it? From my understanding, any legal recourse would need to be a civil suit since the money was donated.
On April 13 2013 02:31 AnachronisticAnarchy wrote: I really hope that something more can be done to this guy. The gaming community has done a lot of awesome things for a lot of people and I'd hate for that to stop due to increased skepticism and exploitation.
The internet in general, and angry gamers in particular, are typically quite proficient in the art of completely fucking someone's life up. Fuck with the internet at your peril, I am pretty sure this guy could have some shit coming his way.
Although what this dude did was pretty awful, this thread is a pretty good example of how people love having excuses to wish harm upon others. Yes, this dude pretty much committed fraud, but mentally masturbating to the idea of him actually becoming handicapped is not exactly admirable lol.
On April 13 2013 03:07 farvacola wrote: Although what this dude did was pretty awful, this thread is a pretty good example of how people love having excuses to wish harm upon others. Yes, this dude pretty much committed fraud, but mentally masturbating to the idea of him actually becoming handicapped is not exactly admirable lol.
I don't really see it as people wanting excuses to wish harm upon others, it's more people having the (naive) hope that there are actually repercussions for people's actions.
I would like to think that something bad will happen to someone that exploits the good-will of hundreds of individuals in order to make that kind of money. Ideally, that means the money gets returned or the person is prosecuted by the law. There's a good chance he'll get away with it though, so is it so wrong to hope that the universe will somehow settle the score?
It's demoralizing for people to admit that sometimes crime does pay and sometimes the bad guy gets away with it. If you secretly hope he gets hit by a bus because of all the bad things he's done, it restores a little more faith in the universe.
On-topic, I'm not sure why people would donate to this individual, unless he's spent a lot of time building trust with the community (I've never heard of him). It's one thing for people to donate to someone like Matthew Fink (looknohands) because his disability is very apparent and well-documented, but some dude sitting in a wheelchair in front of his webcam? Come on people...
On April 13 2013 03:07 farvacola wrote: Although what this dude did was pretty awful, this thread is a pretty good example of how people love having excuses to wish harm upon others. Yes, this dude pretty much committed fraud, but mentally masturbating to the idea of him actually becoming handicapped is not exactly admirable lol.
I don't really see it as people wanting excuses to wish harm upon others, it's more people having the (naive) hope that there are actually repercussions for people's actions.
I would like to think that something bad will happen to someone that exploits the good-will of hundreds of individuals in order to make that kind of money. Ideally, that means the money gets returned or the person is prosecuted by the law. There's a good chance he'll get away with it though, so is it so wrong to hope that the universe will somehow settle the score?
It's demoralizing for people to admit that sometimes crime does pay and sometimes the bad guy gets away with it. If you secretly hope he gets hit by a bus because of all the bad things he's done, it restores a little more faith in the universe.
On-topic, I'm not sure why people would donate to this individual, unless he's spent a lot of time building trust with the community (I've never heard of him). It's one thing for people to donate to someone like Matthew Fink (looknohands) because his disability is very apparent and well-documented, but some dude sitting in a wheelchair in front of his webcam? Come on people...
My point is that there is a rather large difference between wishing "I hope he pays for what he has done." and "I hope he gets hit by a bus and his legs are torn from his body like a deposit slip.".
On April 13 2013 00:46 feanor1 wrote: People are scumbags. One of the reasons I don't donate unless it is through a reputable charity. I could never imagine being so low as to scam people out of their money. Lowest forms of life.
Roughly 99% of the financial aid (collected through reputable charities) for Haiti went to US corporations.
This is pretty wrong, even by your own source. It didn't go to corporations, it went to NGOs. When you give money to Haiti relief nobody expects somebody in Haiti to be passing around the money you donated to random people on the street. They expect it to go to organizations that are equipped to use the money to supply food, blanks, shelter, etc. Most of the reputable charities spend 70% of their money on helping the cause for which you donated.
Maybe he got enough Likes on facebook so god healed him? But seriously though, that is indeed quite offensive and scandalous to take advantage of donators. Now these donators may not donate again in the future to some good cause because they were scarred by this guy's scam. The ONLY thing that can make up for this is if he sent the 20,000 to a charity. Obviously this guy still isnt the brightest bulb in the package to stand up ON STREAM.
EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/uPt5jAD.gif)
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/Vt9mb.jpg)
