Share prices for Utah-based online discount retailer Overstock.com have plunged this week, after its eccentric CEO Patrick Byrne claimed late Monday he’d played a key role in investigating the scandal over Russian interference in U.S. elections.
In a bizarre statement circulated on business wires, the 57-year-old multimillionaire confirmed details published by self-described investigative journalist Sara Carter, including that he had a romantic relationship with alleged Russian spy Maria Butina — while, Byrne said, he was acting as an informant for the FBI.
Byrne claimed in his statement that the liaison occurred while he “assisted in what are now known as the ‘Clinton Investigation’ and the ‘Russian Investigation’” in 2015, with FBI encouragement.