What? Soliciting looking for an investor is illegal?? (Serious question). I know it's not 100% admirable, but i dont see anything wrong with it. Curious what the law is.

In the USA, public solicitation of investors is a crime.

At least until the SEC rules on the crowd-funding legislation.

Oh wow. Had no idea. Thanks.

In the USA it probably would be... he's in New Zealand.

Yes, its illegal here too unless he filed a registered prospectus somehow.

Didn't stop the USA last time ...

The things he was accused of were illegal in New Zealand also.

Really? I was under the impression NZ didn't have the criminal conspiracy law the US was using.

(Copyright infringement is of course illegal in NZ, but that's a civil matter and not what he was supposedly arrested for).

Really.

    131    Criminal liability for making or dealing with infringing objects
        (1)    Every person commits an offence against this section who, other than 
        pursuant to a copyright licence,—
            (a)makes for sale or hire; or
            (b)imports into New Zealand otherwise than for that person's private 
            and domestic use; or
            (c)possesses in the course of a business with a view to committing any 
            act infringing the copyright; or
            (d)in the course of a business,—
               (i)offers or exposes for sale or hire; or
               (ii)exhibits in public; or
               (iii)distributes; or
            (e)in the course of a business or otherwise, sells or lets for hire; or
            (f)distributes otherwise than in the course of a business to such an extent 
            as to affect prejudicially the copyright owner—an object that is, and that the 
            person knows is, an infringing copy of a copyright work.

NZ copyright law isn't structured like US copyright law; it recognizes "primary" and "secondary" infringement like our law does, but its criminal law is is broader; for instance, creation and sale of circumvention devices is an offense directly under Section 131 of NZ Copyright Law, not some wacky add-on law like the DMCA.

Obviously, most countries don't have exactly the same laws as the US.