1) Released Darkcoin/Dash
2) Put the block reward at 500 coins per block
3) Make it only available to the extremely small pool of linux users(So his buddies and himself could get the majority of coins)
4) Instamine darkcoin with a few of his buddies
5) Cut Darkcoin's block rewards over 50% from 500 to under 100
6) Cut Darkcoin's max coin supply by 50%
7) End the instamine within 40 hours and go on his merry way
What makes that even worse, was that he made the masternodes as a way to continue enriching himself, so he could gain even more $ from the coins he instamined. Within 40 hours over 2million Darkcoins were mined by Evan and a few others at darkcoins/DASH's release.
If this isnt a scam, then I dont know what is.
Seems like it might be a reasonable chronology but you forgot, at least:
a) When the launch runs into problems, agree to try again "next week." When asked by a prospective (presumably unaffiliated) miner who wants to get some sleep whether you will launch within minutes/hours, respond "Definitely not!" Then announce the launch three hours later and launch in four.
b) Release code that is buggy and doesn't work properly during the first two of hours of the launch. Release a fix to a "serious error" that doesn't even compile. Meanwhile, despite the serious error and uncompilable code, somehow someone mines about 500K coins during this period.
c) Release no information about the features or development plan until after the instamine. After all, it is reasonable go ahead and mine every single generic bitcoin clone without being privy to this information, just in case it ends up becoming differentiated later.
Before we start the Duffman Legal Defense Fund, let's select an attorney with the right skill set for this case.
This one seems to have the right specializations to keep Duffman out of prison, or at least get him a cushy cell for the mandatory minimum: