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The Lawyer Who Founded Prenda Law Just Got Disbarred (engadget.com)
Long-time Slashdot reader lactose99 writes:
One of the original copyright trolls finally got their comeuppance. From TFA: "John L. Steele, a Chicago lawyer who pled guilty to perjury, fraud and money laundering resulting from alleged 'honeypot' schemes, has just been disbarred by an Illinois court." John L. Steele, as you may know, is one of the principals of Prenda Law, a notorious copyright troll who has been featured on /. several times. The article goes on to describe how the Prenda lawyers used honeypot-like tactics to trick people into downloads and then subsequently scammed them for copyright violations.
Their operation brought in $6 million in settlement fees, reports Engadget, adding "While it is illegal to download copyrighted files from file-sharing sites, it is also against the law to extort downloaders."
Their operation brought in $6 million in settlement fees, reports Engadget, adding "While it is illegal to download copyrighted files from file-sharing sites, it is also against the law to extort downloaders."
"John L. Steele, a Chicago lawyer who pled guilty to perjury, fraud and money laundering resulting from alleged 'honeypot' schemes, has just been disbarred by an Illinois court."
Great, but what took so long?
I'd have been happier if he served some serious prison time, but this is better than nothing.
Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
Not disbarred! Now this poor soul will have to practice law in another state. How about some fines greater than his scammed income?
The first question any bar association asks is "have you been subject to discipline by any other bar?" He's not going to practice law ever again.