Prenda Law ?copyright trolls? Steele and Hansmeier arrested

[mlove]

Prenda Law "copyright trolls" Steele and Hansmeier arrested | Ars Technica

The indictment explains how the defendants "used sham entities to obtain copyrights to pornographic movies—some of which they filmed themselves—and then uploaded those movies to file-sharing websites in order to lure people to download the movies."

Prenda Law sued hundreds of people for copyright infringement, accusing them of illegally downloading pornographic movies. In 2013, US District Judge Otis Wright sanctioned the firm in a Los Angeles case, along with Steele and Hansmeier personally, saying they had perpetrated a fraud on the court. Wright also referred the case to criminal investigators.

[desmoines]

more on NBC News:


Two Lawyers Charged With Porn-Fueled Copyright Extortion Scheme - NBC News

serves 'em right !!!


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[Barry-xlovecam]

Porn-troll lawyers charged in major fraud, extortion case - StarTribune.com

[JFK]

"They went to a porn convention and cut deals to produce porn they could use to trap more file-sharers. "They were essentially their own clients," Luger said. " So which convention were they at ?

[Barry-xlovecam]

I saw Steele with Lightspeed give a seminar in Phoenix in 2012 or 2013 -- I walked out because they were so full of shit.

Not sure of the other attorney.

[ilnjscb]

Nice!! Take these POS down

[TheDynasty]

that's some crazy stuff

[celandina]

Waste of Gov. money to prosecute these guys...at worst they may be charged with an entrapment (a favored FBI tactic...) These guys are actually protecting those who pay for their porn, and go after the thieves...and at the same time they made a bit of cash... Lest reconvene this debate after they get off from all the charges...

[NALEM]

Federal Indictment here.

[dillfly2000]

But I thought lawyers were trustworthy?

[Paul Markham]

Karma is sweet justice.

[Bladewire]

[arock10]

Special place in hell for copyright trolls

[Tasty1]

Yes, has been discussed before. A sort of Getty Images with an extra shame around it.

[anexsia]

Waste of Gov. money to prosecute these guys...at worst they may be charged with an entrapment (a favored FBI tactic...) These guys are actually protecting those who pay for their porn, and go after the thieves...and at the same time they made a bit of cash... Lest reconvene this debate after they get off from all the charges...

That's not even close to what they were doing. They even got caught uploading pirated content themselves to fuel their scheme.

[MaDalton]

i was once offered to participate in a scheme like that - company takes my content, sets up a trap, lawyers sue and I receive 1/3 of the money.

i told them to gfy but plenty other producers agreed

[celandina]

i was once offered to participate in a scheme like that - company takes my content, sets up a trap, lawyers sue and I receive 1/3 of the money.

i told them to gfy but plenty other producers agreed

I would agree with any such scheme if these guys went after torrents and scared the Ma and Pa thieves from doing it....probably would have asked for 50/50 split though. Just like vigilantes, if nobody does anything against these pirates, then why not. They will get off, because uploading content "to bait" pirates is fine by me...no different in my book then " a bait car" principle.

[celandina]

That's not even close to what they were doing. They even got caught uploading pirated content themselves to fuel their scheme.

They uploaded legit content to pirate sites , NOT pirated content...a big difference... Baiting the crooks should be fine.

[chadknowslaw]

There was plenty of money to be made honestly in legitimate copyright enforcement, but it wasn't enough for them.