Overstock founder Patrick Byrne was seemingly involved in a web of intrigue that involved a Russian spy and the FBI

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Founder and CEO of Overstock.com Patrick Byrne attends Consensus 2019 at the Hilton Midtown on May 15, 2019 in New York City. (

• Overstock.com's now-former CEO and founder Patrick Byrne's reputation as a free-wheeling figure came to a head in a bizarre television appearance that coincided with his abrupt resignation from the company.
• On the same day his resignation was announced, Byrne claimed in multiple television appearances that he was an FBI operative who had become a target of the agency because of his romantic relationship with Russian spy Maria Butina.
• The bizarre statements were just the latest in the unconventional executive's free-wheeling history.
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Overstock.com CEO and founder Patrick Byrne announced his resignation in a shareholder letter that said in part he was too "controversial" to be an effective head of the company.

The news came after a bizarre August 12 statement in which Byrne said he assisted in federal investigations into the 2016 presidential election and was involved with the "Deep State" and had worked with law-enforcement officials, who he called "the Men in Black."

On the same day his resignation was announced, Byrne claimed in multiple television appearances that the FBI had ordered him to maintain his romantic relationship with Russian spy Maria Butina.

His public claims over the past week were just the latest in years of unconventional statements from the executive.