The chief executive of Overstock.com has been spinning a wild, uncorroborated tale of being an FBI informant in the Russia investigation and the lover of Russian foreign agent Maria Butina—and his company is paying the price. Shares for the online retailer have plunged by a third since Patrick Byrne began peddling his bizarre “deep state” claims and boasting that he had “helped the Men in Black.” In a statement on Overstock letterhead, he cryptically bragged: “I am the notorious ‘missing Chapter 1’ of the Russian investigation.” The Salt Lake Tribune notes that the statement is only the latest strange episode for the CEO, whose company was already facing financial problems.
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