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."

Comments

What took so long?

[JustAnotherOldGuy]

"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.

Re:What took so long?

[Fire_Wraith]

This is separate from his convictions. He's still going to prison, he just hasn't been sentenced yet. Think of it as the icing on the cake.

Re:What took so long?

[Solandri]

It took so long because you can't sue lawyers for malpractice. The rate at which lawyers are disbarred is about 0.08% per year. Compared to about 0.3% of doctors losing their license for malpractice. So either lawyers are 4x more honest than doctors, or self-policing by the American Bar Association is inadequate.

Since lawyers insist being able to sue doctors for malpractice is vital for keeping the medical profession honest, why not let us sue lawyers for malpractice? After all, what's good for the goose...

Re:Oh man

[Theaetetus]

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.

Threats of lawsuits are not extortion

[BarbaraHudson]

The article ends with this line:

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."

A threat to initiate legal action is not extortion. Otherwise, how would anyone bring any case to court?

This lawyer had pled guilty to "perjury, fraud and money laundering" - not extortion. He was disbarred for perjury, fraud, and money laundering, not extortion. Sheesh people, use some common sense, or at least read the summary and note any contradictions.

Re:Threats of lawsuits are not extortion

[Antique Geekmeister]

Basing the lawsuit on fraud and/or entrapment, with excessive damages, against defendants who lack resources to defend themselves in court, can be considered ethically extortionate even if the act itself cannot be successfully prosecuted as the crime of extortion.

Re:Oh man

[Anonymous Coward]

Sure he is. This is a dupe of course, as it was covered several days ago after the Ars Technica article. But it was pretty clear that he accepted "voluntary" disbarment rather than go through the full on hearings and all. And it was a four year thing - after which he simply has to show that he has "reformed" and has his life in order and he is back in.

Re: Yanks go home1!

[DontBeAMoran]

That I must explain this is a testimony to the ignorance of persons like yourself.

Everyone is ignorant of a lot of terms outside their own domain.