Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Jeweler Forged Judge's Signature To Force Google To Kill Negative Reviews (thedailybeast.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the you-gotta-do-what-you-gotta-do dept.

A sapphire salesman is facing jail time for forging a judge's signature in a case involving Google. Kelly Weill from The Daily Beast reports: Michael Arnstein is the third-generation owner of the Natural Sapphire Company, a Manhattan-based jewelry business. After a falling-out with a former business partner, Arnstein's company amassed dozens of negative reviews, which featured prominently in the Natural Sapphire Company's Google search results. Arnstein sued the former business partner in 2011, accusing him of writing defamatory negative reviews, and a judge ordered the partner to delete 54 of the negative comments. But some negative reviews remained, even after the court order. So Arnstein copied the judge's signature and forged new court orders of his own, demanding that Google scrub negative reviews from his company's search results, Arnstein admitted in a guilty plea on Friday.

4 of 52 comments (clear)

  1. Is there a problem here? by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The guy did something illegal and is now going to jail. To my mind, the system worked as it’s supposed to in this case.

    --
    #DeleteChrome
    1. Re:Is there a problem here? by swillden · · Score: 4, Insightful

      The guy did something illegal and is now going to jail. To my mind, the system worked as it’s supposed to in this case.

      Does it have to be a problem for it to be interesting?

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
  2. Don't Mess With Judges by SeattleLawGuy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Yes, bad reviews are terrible for a business, and often unfair. Lawsuits are usually the wrong way to respond to those, and positive reviews from satisfied customers are usually a great way to respond to those--but lawsuits are an option if someone keeps making illegitimate complaints and it hurts your business enough, or if someone is using them to harass your employees, for example.

    You know what's not an option?

    Forging court orders.

    --
    Real lawyers write in C++
  3. Re:Reputation management by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Seems a good portion of that field hovers right on the border.