tagged w/ con artist
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(public domain pic, Mr. Steele)
I was recently reading the Arstechnica article: "Settle up: voicemails show P2P porn law firms in action" when I noticed this threat from a user named "John Steele"(99% sure it really is Mr. Steele):
++++"Unauthorized copying" is stealing and is why almost every judge we have been in front of throws out these goofy motions to quash you photocopy from each other. Sure, one judge in 10 doesn't like porn and kicks our case (and this causes ARS to act like this litigation is on its deathbed). [I wonder what the judge would say if he heard about how Mr. Steele thinks the only reason he tossed the case is because he doesn't like porn. The day that judge tore Mr. Steele a new one, must have been quite embarrassing for Mr. Steele]
Well, every couple of days we come here for fun to see what crazy things are written by armchair lawyers. I would be careful though, we were able to figure out one of the posters on an earlier 'article' and our client dropped him from the suit . . . and sued him directly the next day. Something tells me settlement will be tough.[I can not comprehend any reason why Mr. Steele would feel the need to try to threaten people for discussing their cases with each other. If they are just armchair lawyers, why is he paying so much attention? Also, I wonder what figured out refers to? If he tried to dox someone, I think it is only fair to return the favor]++++
After reading that comment, I decided to look into what might drive an attorney to try to threaten the Internet. I figured a person's blog is the most accurate representation of his internal workings, so I searched for a wefightpiracy_com blog. I couldn't find one, so I went with reviewing his familylawlifeline_com blog.
His familylawlifeline is intended to pertain only to his family law firm. However, I believe the statements contained within are accurate representations of the moral man that Mr. Steele once was(all of this is my opinion in case I need to clarify that for lawyers who may be reading this). The awkward highlights that emphasize how money can corrupt anyone, even a self-proclaimed "family man"
1) June 2008 "Even Attorneys can be bullies"
"I suppose I can see how being an ass might get you somewhere if you are up against a pro se party who has no idea of what is happening, or maybe a timid transaction attorney that somehow found themselves in a divorce case. "
----Being an ass does seem to be helping Mr. Steele force settlements out of people
"I am not sure why some Family Law attorneys purposely try to build up their mystique as a jerk."
----I asked myself the same question after I read the comment on the Arstechnica article
"Standing up to a bully, whether some blowhard attorney, or an 8th grader feels good.Try it sometime."
----I agree, Mr. Steele. Standing up to a bully(you) does feel quite good
see the rest here:http://familylawlifeline_com/archives/197(basically he says he enjoys beating bullies and stopping their "antics")
2)March 2010 "How to be (or find) a happy lawyer, Part 1 of 2"
"First, I started my own firm a few years ago. This means I don’t have to take on clients I do not like, or that I think are scum bags. And the associates in my firm know they don’t have to represent scum bags."
---Mr. Steele's firm is representing individuals, who make millions each year while simultaneously demanding $1000s from working class individuals. Mr. Steele's clients have acknowledged the fact that they have nothing to lose, which probably means they don't care about people's guilt or innocence so long as "the check clears". If you try to make millions by blackmailing the parents of some teenager who downloaded a porno that only cost you a couple grand to make....I think you are a scum bag
"While I know other attorneys who believe that “all money is green”, I respectfully submit that getting the “what the hell are you arguing?” look from a judge, or being known as a legal whore in the relatively small community of family lawyers is not for me. I admit I like to take the high road and drill opposing counsels who are argue whatever their client’s want them to say (assuming the check clears of course)."
---Mr. Steele works for free in order to exploit US copyright laws so that his client can turn low budget adult films into cash cows. None of the money goes to the models in the videos. Models who accepted a payment of a couple $1000 just so they could pay their bills. If that doesn't make you a legal whore, I don't know what does.
Mr. Steele likes to take the high road???Really??Can someone help me find evidence for that
see the rest here: http://familylawlifeline_com/archives/341
3)August 2010 "Liar Liar Pants on Fire"
Mr. Steele discusses how a new attorney attempted to claim that Mr. Steele had lied to the court. The new attorney claimed that Mr. Steele did not document the fact that he was refiling a case on his petition.
" Now the other attorney looked pretty stupid, because he either cannot read or he was too lazy to read my Petition (I bet the former)."
----Mr. Steele sent out signed pre-settlement letters with dates 4-5 years in the past and false statements about not being able to contact people. I wonder which of the two choices he would pick to refer to his actions
see the rest here: http://familylawlifeline_com/archives/542
4) August 2008 "Attorney's work for.....Money!"
Mr. Steele discusses how he feels that people should realize that lawyers need to make money and that you should not expect them to work Pro Bono.
"The moral of this story is don’t ask attorneys to provide free legal services, and be very afraid of those attorneys that would actually agree to such a request."
---So one should not ask a lawyer to work for free. I wonder how Mr. Steele feels about attorneys, like himself, who offer to work for free. I would be even more scared of individuals who volunteer to work for free. Part of the reason Mr. Steele is using mass mailing is so he can curb his costs since he works for free
see the rest here: http://familylawlifeline_com/archives/219
5)June 2008 "Courtesy Please"
Mr. Steele discusses losing his cool.
"People want to be respected. And when we do not get respect, we get indignant and lash out."
---I wonder if Mr. Steele was able to see the accused as more that lying thieves(his opinion), then would he be able to sympathize with the anger coming from the thousands of individuals his firm is disrespecting
see the rest here:http://familylawlifeline_com/archives/204
6) October 2009 "The Judge is always Right"
"1. Reputation is everything in the legal system. And attorneys and judges know which divorce lawyers will sell their services to the anti-Christ if he paid a retainer."
---The way things have been going so far, Mr. Steele's reputation is going to take quite the hit. Federal judges have "eviscerated him for abusing the legal system" and have called his cases "a fishing expedition"
see the rest here: http://familylawlifeline_com/archives/341
There are additional blog entries at: www.familylawlifeline_com
I would post more, but I'm not sure whether or not I have already posted an amount that will result in Mr. Steele trying to sue me.
According to the aforementioned Arstechnica article, Mr. Steele's firm made at least $43,000 last week. The ability for money to corrupt is amazing at times. Had I met Mr. Steele years ago, when he still stood by the morals he had as divorce attorney, I would have nothing but respect. Considering how his firm is acting these days, I must consider him to be a bully and will fight back. At least it is comforting to know that the old Mr. Steele would support me............(public domain pic, Mr. Steele)
I was recently reading the Arstechnica article:... more
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NEW YORK – A bombshell 60 Minutes report has left the writer’s Three Cups of Tea memoir—which earned him millions and made him a humanitarian folk hero—in tatters. Lloyd Grove and Mike Giglio report on the fallout. Plus, Mortenson's Pakistani host Mansur Khan Mahsud exposes his lies. Link - http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-04-18/mansur-khan-mahsud-greg-mortenson-is-a-liar/
When 60 Minutes was finished with superstar philanthropist and U.S. military adviser Greg Mortenson on Sunday night, the author of Three Cups of Tea—a 2006 bestselling memoir of adventures and good works in Afghanistan and Pakistan—was in a million little pieces.
Correspondent Steve Kroft reported that key anecdotes in Mortenson’s inspirational narrative—which launched him as a humanitarian folk hero, attracted $60 million in donations to his nonprofit Central Asia Institute, and personally earned him millions of dollars in book royalties and lecture fees—appear to have been fabricated.
“Another hero bites the dust,” MTV founder Tom Freston, a frequent visitor to Afghanistan, told The Daily Beast. Freston lived in Kabul in the late 1970s, traveling the hardscrabble country as a garment exporter. “And it’s especially bad in this case, as there are so few heroes in that troubled part of the world.”
Afghan media mogul Saad Mohseni, whose Moby Group runs the nation’s dominant television and radio outlets, reacted with sorrow at the report.
“If the allegations are true,” Mohseni told The Daily Beast, “then it is a tremendous blow to humanitarian and education related nongovernment work in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as many in the West will shy away from helping similar projects in the future.” Mohseni added: “Mr. Mortenson was not that well known in Afghanistan and his fame in the U.S. surprised many of us in Kabul… However, the man needs to be given an opportunity to defend himself.”
“Greg has flown around on Black Hawk helicopters, and Petraeus has opened schools with him,” said Isobel Coleman. “There’s been some commingling there.”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/dailybeast/20110418/ts_dailybeast/13572_isthreecupsofteawritergregmortensonafraudNEW YORK – A bombshell 60 Minutes report has left the writer’s Three Cups... more
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KSirys
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added this
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1 year ago
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(I suspect that there are additional letters, however since I have not confirmed that assumption the title will remain "letter" for now.)
I recently obtained a copy of a signed letter from the office of Steele Hansmeier PLLC(wefightpiracy_com) that is intended to serve as a follow-up to one of the firm's "settlement letters." The date on the letter is in March of 2011.
The first sentence of the letter basically states: On March _, 2007 our office sent you a letter regarding the aforementioned copyright infringement case that was filed on September _, 2006
Those are not typos, well at least not on my part.
The letter continues with a statement that claims that Mr. Steele's office has been unable to get in touch with the recipient.
Odd thing is, the e-mail address that is listed under the mailing address on the letter is not the e-mail address associated with the recipient's ISP. The only way Mr. Steele's firm could obtain the address would be by asking for it during a phone call. One of the five calls which Mr. Steele's firm would like to pretend never happened. The recipient said no to settling which is probably something his firm never expected to hear
The letter concludes with a new settlement deadline of mid April 2011. At the very end is Mr. Steele's signature(he signed off on extremely inaccurate dates and a blatant lie)
Personally, I believe that the implications of this letter are extremely disturbing. For one, Mr. Steele's firm appears to not bother proof-reading any of its letters. Mr. Steele is comfortable with asking for thousands of dollars from people, but he can't take 10 seconds to at least review the first sentence of his settlement letters.
Assuming the incorrect dates were not the result of a typo, then they must be the result of faulty automated software. No human being would shift from 2011 to 2007 to 2006 then back to 2011. If the incorrect dates came from automated software, it must have been programmed by amateurs for it to be so inaccurate.
Was Mr. Steele's bittorrent tracking software programmed by the same people who attempted to insert dates into the settlement letters?
No one knows how his software works, nor do they know if his firm takes the same sort of liberties with accurately typing IP addresses as they do with dates. Mix-up a few numbers and you end up suing the wrong person
If I was on a jury, I wouldn't trust evidence being created by family law attorney turned porn pirate chaser who is apparently too busy to get the date right on what is supposed to be a settlement letter
The closest thing I have heard about that one could interpret as an excuse for the obvious errors, is that Mr. Steele doesn't have very much free time. I guess that is understandable when you are attempting to threaten to sue thousands of people in multiple states and Canada. Looks like Mr. Steele's class is quickly becoming unmanageable.
I have advised the source of the letter to notify the courts that he will address the issue head on, once he figures out how to get back to 2007.
If anyone else received a similar letter, hold on to it. Mr. Steele's colossal screw-up, and his official signature that essentially approves of failing to proof-read, fact check, and tell time are factors which may sway the court's opinion in your favor. Most federal judges already disapprove of his behavior, and this will just add one more reason for another judge to tear his cases apart(I suspect that there are additional letters, however since I have not confirmed that... more
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Her sensational Internet fame over, Kari Ferrell—now in a Utah jail for fraud and forgery—displays her reflective side in a wide-ranging chat with The Daily Beast about the realities of jail (food, masturbation, and the guards' nickname for her), how she will change when her sentence ends—and why Steve Jobs should send her a check.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-11-11/catching-up-with-the-hipster-grifter/?cid=hp:beastoriginalsR2Her sensational Internet fame over, Kari Ferrell—now in a Utah jail for fraud... more
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ctv
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added this
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2 years ago
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A Chinese con-man from Inner Mongolia effected what must be one of the most dramatic scams in history, when he conned planners and officials into allowing him to demolish two whole government buildings in regional capital Hohhot - an 8-story municipal government office building and, even more daringly, an 11-story Public Security Bureau office building.
Wang Xiniu, who then operated under a different name, tricked the local government into believing that he was head of a company that was offering to build the "Golden Eagle International CBD Center," a skyscraper that would soar 169 meters into the air, making it the tallest building in western China. Lured by the prestige of such a project, the officials readily agreed, investing heavily in the project and even allowing the demolition of their own offices.
As if that wasn't enough, it has been revealed that Wang has already pulled off similar scams in several parts of China before his recent arrest.A Chinese con-man from Inner Mongolia effected what must be one of the most dramatic... more
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A woman who tricked some of Europe's top auction houses and boutiques out of £2m worth of paintings, jewellery and antiques is facing jail.
Shahra Marsh, 52, lived the high life for seven years at expensive flats in London's Docklands, Isle of Dogs, Bayswater and Mayfair.
Auctioneers Bonhams, Christie's and Sotheby's and boutiques in Paris were given cheques that later bounced.
Marsh pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court to fraud and concealing goods.A woman who tricked some of Europe's top auction houses and boutiques out of... more
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