Actually Paul we are all for due process, the Problem is that Team Prenda doesn't believe in it and obviously doesn't practice it or they wouldn't be getting dressed down in various courtrooms across the country and sanctioned by the very judges who have Prenda cases on their dockets.
You bang on about there being a conspiracy, but it has nothing to do with content creators getting their money. It's more about the conspiracy to use the court system to engage in legal extortion with a fraudulent victim and various entities and shell companies and offshore LLC's to hide an ongoing criminal enterprise in my opinion.
Once again Paul you make personal attacks, I would have thought someone with your education would have been able to put together a more eloquent remark rather than a high school comeback.
So Paul I have to ask, now that Duffy has learned how little he received of that 1.9 mil You and John have taken out of your trolling profits in 2012, how much has he been complaining about it?
I would gather Duffy was being kept in the dark about how much money was coming in to Prenda from your victims -er- infringers. Duffy must have been a tad upset to see you two were getting big check and he was getting almost next to nothing, must have him a little steamed doesn't it.
Duffy must be wondering why he agreed to sign on as the Prenda principal for such a small taste out of a 1.9 mil haul.
Duffy must be worrying you and old John about whether he will flip like Gibbs did, after all he is a scapegoat here isn't he. That's why he is the principal in Prenda Law, he takes the brunt of the sanctions, he is taking the brunt for the bond, the sanctions, the appearances in various cases.
I am worried for you and John though Paul, I don't know how much longer Duffy will be able to withstand the barrage of court rulings and sanctions and fee awards... never mind his name being dragged through the sewer and the various referrals to the Illinois state bar.
Then you have the possibility of a Grand Jury looking into RICO violations and the IRS Criminal Division investigation that is ongoing, I would have to think Duffy would love to get out from all that strain he is under, after all he is on the hook since his name is the principal of Prenda Law.
I bet when Duffy signed on he was thinking a few quick bucks for just his name on a few documents, easy money right? I bet now he cringes every time Prenda Law's name comes up in the media or court filings because his reputation is just taking a beating in the public eye and never mind legal circles I would believe.
With that being said I am sure you and John must have upped the kitty a little for Duffy from the profits right? You did do that to help keep Duffy from pulling a Gibbs didn't you Paul? I would have if I was in your shoes especially after Gibbs and the Dropbox financial information coming out.
John and you must have been a little sleepless after that bomb hit, I bet there was some frantic phone calls to Duffy telling him "not to believe what Gibbs said was made and that it was only a tenth of that" right?
I have to wonder how much more Duffy is willing to take in this, after all Duffy has judgments against him for monies owed I believe, and then all these sanction orders and fee awards and the cost of flying to these hearings, the bar investigations, the IRS Criminal Division investigations and the possibility of a RICO indictment could be wanting him to get out from all this, especially for that low 5 figure cut he was getting.
Steele I bet is worried that Duffy will pull a Gibbs and not want to be the only guy without a chair when the music stops, I am sure Duffy like Gibbs knows a lot of the inner working of this litigation nightmare.
Must be keeping Steele awake at night knowing his cleverly crafted litigation strategy after cutting the porn companies out of the loop to keep the profits all in house is crashing down, and now he has to worry about Duffy flipping.
Though I would have to believe Duffy was a loyal solider till that Dropbox Financial for 2012 came into the public eye, no maybe not so much...I am sure Duffy is thinking this isn't worth all the strain and financial hits he is taking for so little of a return.
You and John must be calling Duffy two or three times a day to make sure he is still on board and hoping that no one from the IRS Criminal Division has visited him yet and offered him a deal to be a witness in exchange for a lighter penalty and maybe no jail time if there is a case put forward for tax evasion.
And of course if there was a RICO indictment well I am sure someone Paul's age wouldn't like the idea of rattling the bars in a cell for a few years while John is enjoying Florida and you are in Minnesota and working away making money from your ADA suits, probably wouldn't sit well with Duffy.
You have to admit though Duffy would be a great witness in a RICO prosecution and what a sweet deal that would be for him to get out from underneath all of this mess and take all the stress off of him personally and with the wife and the strain his marriage must be under from all of this I would imagine.
But you know Paul I am worried for you, Steele has tried to insulate himself from this by not being an active lawyer, you however still are. I wonder how well your Law practice and your callas action objections are going to fair now that this is all in the light and your name being on all these sanction orders and fee awards, not to mention you ADA lawsuits your filing.... I could see your ability to make money dwindling.
John on the other hand isn't practicing (wink wink) so hsi Bar number isn't in jeopardy as much as your's and Duffy is of course. But what if John starts feeling the pressure of RICO and the IRS Criminal Division investigations?
Think John would be tempted enough to turn witness to get out from under stiff penalties and possible jail time reduced by naming you as the main man, the genius behind all this?
I mean after all you still have some litigation scams -er- strategies in play here and Steele in theory could point to them and say " see look at his litigation that is current , he's the brains behind all of this. That could be bad for you Paul if you had no chair when the music stops.
But I guess it's just my imagination running wild, I am sure Steele and Duffy wouldn't do that to you right Paul.
Hey Paul. Wow so not only a Troll lawyer, but also a troll poster (which fits into the segway of your "Under The Bridge" consulting firm)
Nice of you to admit that it's you that has been posting away here...oops didn't mean to come out and give that away did you? Noe worries there, we are used to You, Steele and Duffy pulling a Pretenda.
Not to worry I am sure you will claim it's Mark Lutz posting (You know Mark has lots of time on his hands to post here in between running a multi-faceted organization of various holding companies and shell entities)
So worried about being baited but yet come out and admit it's you posting here in defense of your cellmate -er- partner Steele.
So Paul when you and Steel files that genius move of the Bar complaint about Gibbs, did even occur to you that Gibbs would have had records of phone calls, emails, faxes, courier receipts etc for his case records and billings along with for tax purposes? Just curious about that colossal blunder that brought forward the income you and Steele have been pilfering -er- making from victims -er- infringers.
Bet you weren't counting on the Dropbox details coming out huh...another famed Pretenda oops!
So Paul I have to ask you, now that Duffy realizes how much you and Steele have been making and how little he has received for his efforts, but yet having to take all the media heat and court judgments and bar referrals and being on the hook for this bond, how long do you think it will be before he pulls a Gibbs and switches sides to get out from under?
Honestly Paul you may have just made another new enemy with Duffy seeing how much you guys have been taking and how little has come his way.
Duffy I am sure is feeling the financial strain of all these expenses for court, and for the bond and various sanctions and having to fly around and try and dig out from under all this mess.
I wonder if a Grand Jury that could be looking at a possible RICO case will be looking at Paul to come testify. I would be of the opinion that Duffy must be seething about getting such a minuscule amount of a 1.9 million dollar take.
Duffy would be a very attractive witness for co-operation in a RICO case you would have to believe. Duffy would also be a great witness for the IRS Criminal Division investigators because after all it is Duffy that would be taking the hit since his name is the Principal of Prenda Law.
I bet Old Duffy would love to get out from under, get rid of all the media attention, the financial strain, the peril of his being able to practice due to the bar complaints, the constant court sanctions... how easy this would be to do if he was a witness instead of being on the hook so to speak.
I bet old John and you have had a few conversations about that Bar complaint about Gibbs huh, and how that shouldn't have been done in anger and without some thought eh.
So what are you going to do about Lutz Paul, he can't play the invisible man forever now can he.
I mean lets be honest Paul how long do you think it will be before a Judge orders the U.S. Marshall service to find Mark and bring him to court, can keep making excuses for ever Paul.
Lutz can only not be found, or miss a flight, or have his cat go in for surgery or claim illness so many times before some Judge tires of the litany of "Where's Waldo" starring Mark Lutz sightings.
I have to wonder how long Lutz will last to before he flips, we all know Lutz isn't a corporate genius you and Steele have built him up to be, if he was you boy would have had him in court by now.
I gather that Lutz's performance in Florida where he tried to play corporate representative and bombed so badly upon questioning from the Judge over seeing the case has shaken the belief that he would be able to with stand even the slightest of scrutiny.
I don't blame you at all, I mean Old John leaning forward , desperately trying to whisper answers to Mark to stave off the Judge finding out what was really going on in her courtroom, who would wan't to go thru that again right.
now let's hypothesis for a minute here, you and John sure have your backs in a corner, so Paul let me ask you, I don't think John would do well in Prison if you two were say convicted of RICO and tax evasion, now lets say that did happen (Hypothetically... but hey even we have a dream!)how long do you think it would take John to wan't to cut a deal and try and save himself?
This John would do that after all you have been through since Law School? I have to tell you Paul I am a little concerned for you buddy, I mean you could be the last man standing in all this.
Hypothetically John could say this was all your idea, the suing of down loaders for porn companies, the cutting the porn companies out to not have to give up any share of settlements, the making of your own companies, offshore entities and own porn movies to sue infringers.
John in theory could say you were the mastermind, and point to you using class action suits that are in the midst of settling and then objecting for a go away fee.
Then of course you have this ADA settlement business going on. I could see where John could use this to very convincingly point the finger you way and seeing "he is the brains behind it".
But of course I don't think John would do this to you to avoid facing a RICO case if one were brought forward...NAH!
You and John are tight right.. I am sure it's just my opinion getting the best of me... silly RICO & IRS investigations and all.
Well thanks for dropping by all these months Paul we sure have enjoyed those clever retorts from you. See you on visitation day -er- I mean in the next story comments.
Oh Please. Anyone who has ever watched a senate committee panel do any questioning of a government agency even when there is a political and public firestorm knows they will watch the senators on the committee pound the table and raise their voice when asking something, but that's about it.
The senate committees will have already worked out the outcome behind closed doors as always, the rest is just a dog and pony show for the public and the media.
From the White House to the various government agencies that go before the senate and house committees have and always will make the back room deals as they always have.
The senate and house reps get an IOU to pull out at a later date or they will get some support for some pet project of theirs.
The Potomac two step is still alive in Washington and will be for years to come and the U.S. citizens are always the one left on the hook.
You can bet is a senator or congressman was having their calls/emails scooped up that there would be heads rolling, but since it just your everyday citizen, well sorry but were expendable.
Once again the denials coming from Team Prenda are worth a laugh. Is it just me or did anyone else notice the absence of Lutz when he was required to appear.
Every time Lutz is required to appear there is always some reason Lutz wasn't there. This is like the 3rd or 4 th time now where Lutz has failed to appear.
Now I am not sure of this, but I don't recall Lutz having appeared before Judge Snow, I believe at one time he was supposed to appear, but it's my belief that Lutz had not done so.
I have said this before that Lutz will not appear at any of these upcoming hearings, not after the fiasco in Florida in the Sunlust case.
Lutz just won't survive questioning with out Steele whispering answers in his ear. I love how Steele who is supposedly retired seems to know so much about AF Holdings and copyrights assignments and who said what.
For someone with no involvement with Prenda Law and AF Holdings Steele sure knows a lot, I also recall Stelle said he was a consultant to AF Holdings, so why did Steele not say that in his testimony.
Steele said before that he was a consultant to AF Holdings and he is paid for that. So why did Steele not testify to that in court, or is John's memory lapsing.
I still can't figure out why Flesher was at this hearing when he was questioned by the Judge much like Mark Lutz in the Florida case he was there to testify about what he doesn't know and he gets tossed as a witness, much like Lutz did as a corporate representative of Sunlust(the irony is too funny on that point)
It's the same with Berry's testimony another person who doesn't know anything. Great witnesses there John...lol.
So why didn't this Ray Rogers take the stand to testify about his signatures on the copyright assignments? As a matter of fact why would Ray Rogers sign copyright assignments when he didn't work for AF Holdings?
Hansmeier previously said in the deposition in California by Pietz and Ranallo that Mark Lutz was the Sole employee at AF Holdings and that he take no salary or wage. So why is Rogers signing copyright assignments when he has nothing to do with AF Holdings, and why would he be signing these and then giving them to Steele who said he didn't know anything about the AF Holdings.
I can't wait to hear John explain why VPR International is registered to his sisters address, and why there is a trust named Salt Marsh and his sisters boyfriend is named Anthony Saltmarsh.
I also loved the fact that Hansmeier brought the documents to court to show on a slide but didn't want them in as an exhibit but the Judge entered them in if they were going to be part of Hansmeier's case....Oops!
You can bet those documents are going to get used in other cases or brought to the attention of other Judges where Prenda is having problems.
Was John Steele of Prenda Law a consultant to these guys? Cause from having their ass handed to them by this Judge it sure seems like it.
Hmmmm so these Guy had one sham employee supposedly as the head of the company. Is it just me or does this seem similar to what Prenda has with it's so called client AF Holdings and it's sole CEO/employee Mark Lutz.
I loved the part where the Judge told the lawyer that "the sham employee, and sham office" were going to be part of the Jury trial.
It's good to see the Judge is making these guys take it to trial after refusing to dismiss it. This Judge is definitely holding this troll's feet to the fire.
I still have to wonder if the troll who brought this up isn't related to John Steele, cause man it seems damn close by the shenanigans going on in this case.
Wow!!! I am surprised that the NSA and Obama didn't put out a press release stating: "Look what we didn't do"
"See how forthright we are with the people, now you can trust us!"
Of course no one would believe it anyway since the government and the NSA can't seem to be honest about anything that is going on.
The RIAA seems to forget the public is not always ripping off music.
There are countless people who watch a music video or maybe a clip of a band or artist live show of a song and it peaks a persons interest in that very artist or band.
I myself heard a band song on Vimeo, and then checked out another video of another song from that same album that band put out.
I liked it enough to go and purchase the that full album from the band on iTunes, and now it is on my iPod.
DI am sure there other people who have done the same or something similar with Youtube/Vimeo themselves. Shouldn't the RIAA and Labels look at it as a tool to get your music out to people?
The RIAA and the Labels are so far out of touch with the music indutry and what the people want it isn't even funny. My Friends play in a bamd and have a record deal and they are distributed in the US and Canada by a major Label.
The label though doesn't promote them enough, so they do more self promotion thru their site and thru Youtube/Vimeo and a couple of smaller music genre sites.
They do a lot of self promotion themselves thru social networking as well and have their videos on those sites as well. Why? Because if you not the artist or band of the moment you get no promotional help like say Justin Bieber does.
The RIAA and the Labels are so still stuck on the money they were making from CD sales, that they figure if they snuff out things like Napster that their sales will increase ten fold.
How has that worked out so far? Not so well. Then the RIAA & Labels were crying for more of the share of sales of songs thru vehicles like iTunes and what not.
Instead of adapting and riding the wave to get music across cheaper to people who want that band or artist music they still cling to the CD sales etc.
The Labels and the RIAA are way behind in their thinking, instead of change and adapt they cling to that old CD sale like a heroin addict looking for a fix... for old times sake.
The bands and artists are way better at self promotion and giving the people what they want. Nowadays most bands and artists will allow you to purchase their music digitally off their site or thru other avenues as well as merchandise and yes even CD's.
Another interpretation that would make it difficult for the people who actually do good works with Wi-Fi.
So are they telling us that all the miscreants who war drive and invade Wi-Fi will stop dead in their tracks because of this ruling? I doubt that.
The government can't even seem to follow it's own law and those who are there to enforce them and seem to have a broad interpretation of how the law applies to them.
The networks like CBS,NBC,ABC,TBS etc are the reason people don't like commercials and want's a skip feature. How many times have you been watching a show or movie and there are several commercials every 5 minutes?
It is the reason why companies like DISH'S commercial skip option are appealing to people. Yes some people like commercials but not everyone. We all get that this is how the networks make money is by there commercials and they sell that on how many people they reach.
But there are just as many that when a commercial comes on will get up and go to the can, or go let the dog out or actually stop and listen to what the wife is saying.
So how many really watch the commercials? How many of us have seen the commercials so many times we can recite them off by heart.
Maybe I don't want to learn to drive a 18 wheeler, or listen to the Vince the slap chop guy say "look at my nuts", or want to buy Ron Popiels knife set and get all the other shit that comes with it.
Maybe I don't want to watch that Pharmaceutical ad that spends the first 15 seconds telling me how great this pill is and spends the next 45 seconds telling me all the shit that's going to occur if it's side effects kick my ass from taking it.
The networks is concerned about DISH customers missing their commercials, they are more worried about the precedent that might occur if the t.v manufacturers and set top manufacturers start to bring equipment in the likes of what DISH is going to do, but on a different scale to the rest of the consumers who don't care much for commercials.
Then they have a problem on their hands, this was more of a preemptive strike to keep this from occurring. You can bet your ass that if some manufacturer decides to do this for T.V.'s or a set top box that the Networks will be howling at the moon to get the courts and government to stop it.
Is anyone really surprised at this outcome? We all know that the more you look into Prenda Law and it's so called "clients" the more you sense that something smells with these lawsuits.
There was no way that Steele , Hansmeier and Duffy were going to let Lutz answer any questions regarding AF Holdings, not after Lutz's brilliant performance in Florida in the Sunlust Case.
Steele and Hansmeier will delay, appeal, and file to try and stave off having to appear in court and have to give any answers under oath. I would expect them to just try and settle it rather than have to appear and take the fifth again.
Duffy the brilliant legal mind he is shouldn't be repping anyone in this case, lord knows you would hate to see anyone get sentanced to the chair at the rate he is going, nice smackdown by the judge.
The mere fact that the Prenda gang doesn't want to submit any evidence to back up their claims is very telling of how much bullshit is coming from their end of the spectrum.
They failed to get their so called expert Peter Hansmeier who is supposedly their forensic investigator to submit evidence or to refute Nevilles claims that Steele allegedly put these files on TPB for downloading.
As much as Prenda tries to put up this fight they really have no fight in them, and nor can they really fight back, they more try and deflect from the issues rather than supply evidence or testimony to refute them.
It ought to be interesting to see what Judge Chen is going to do here, I doubt he was impressed with the Salt Marsh signature story, but let it slide.
Now that Gibbs had piped up and said he never met Salt Marsh and it was Hansmeier who told me the signature was ok, it should make for interesting moments with Judge Chen.
I expect we will see the usual from Duffy, Hansmeier and Steele in deny, deny, deny and try and delay, delay, delay as per usual procedure from the Prenda gang.
I expect we will see a flurry of late filings and hear about someones pet parrot on life support and how they need to be their in case Pedro takes a turn for the worst.
Now that Gibbs has pretty much gave up the Prenda gang I wonder how far off that RICO grand jury is going to be, I am sure that Gibbs testimony was of great intrest to the IRS Criminal Division as was Duffy's statement that a check was made out to Prenda Law...Oops!
Now of course Hansmeier said that no money were paid out to AF Holdings and the money was in Prenda account for future litigation, but Duffy said that Prenda was winding down and had no money...Hmmm where ever did that settlement money go.
Look we all know Duffy is not being forthright with the court in this case, that is pretty much a given. Duffy implicitly told the Judge that Lutz would appear knowing full well he would not.
If Duffy knew Lutz wasn't going to show, he would have informed the court forthwith like any lawyer would do as called for by his being an officer of the court.
The mere fact that Duffy knew full well Lutz wasn't going to appear is more of the games Prenda plays with the Legal System and the Courts it has cases before.
We all know there is no way Steele, Hansmeier and Duffy are going to let Lutz sit in court and try and survive questioning from Defense Lawyers representing clients sued by Prenda and it's so called "clients".
Steele, Hansemeier and Duffy needed the week to file a response because they had to get the lie they were going to tell the court straight before they told it, so they don't end up with egg on their face like when Steele makes a comment and then it comes back to bite him in the ass (how's that uploading files going John?)
Nazaire knew as well that Lutz wasn't going to appear in that case as well. If Nazaire didn't know why wouldn't he have piped up to the court that he didn't know where Mr.Lutz was to save himself getting into more sanction trouble with the court.
Prenda's tactics in courts where Judges are looking into the fact of the cases Prenda has before it are always to deny, deny, deny and delay, delay, delay to buy time needed to file an appeal, file a motion to get out of whatever the trouble they are in or to simple file motions to challenge what ever the court or defense is seeking to find information wise.
Steele, Hansmeier and Duffy will not let Lutz near a court and have to give SWORN testimony and answer anything under oath. Can you imagine Lutz trying to answer questions about AF Holdings where he is supposedly the CEO and all of the trusts, entities and LLC's that are involved here?
Please, Lutz couldn't even get thru a simple Q&A question session with the Judge in the Florida case as he was trying to pass himself off as a corporate representative of Sunlust Pictures.
Let's have a look at how well Lutz did in answering the Questions the Judge had in the Sunlust case Prenda filed in Florida:
HE COURT: Mr. Lutz, you're under oath, you have to give truthful answers or you face penalties of perjury. Do you understand that?
MR. LUTZ: Yes.
THE COURT: What is your position with Sunlust?
MR. LUTZ: I'm a representative of them.
THE COURT: What does that mean?
MR. LUTZ: Corporate representative.
THE COURT: What does that mean?
MR. LUTZ: They asked me to appear on various matters throughout the country.
THE COURT: Are you an officer of the company?
MR. LUTZ: I'm not, no.
THE COURT: Are you authorized to bind the company to any legal contracts?
MR. LUTZ: I am not.
THE COURT: Are you salaried?
MR. LUTZ: No, 1099.
THE COURT: So you are a 1099 contracted entity and you just go around and sit in a Court and represent yourself to be the corporate representative of the company?
MR. LUTZ: Yes.
THE COURT: Mr. Torres, did you know this was Mr. Lutz's position, a paid corporate representative?
MR. TORRES: No, Your Honor, I did not.
THE COURT: Who is the president of Sunlust?
MR. LUTZ: I'm unaware.
THE COURT: Who is the vice president?
MR. LUTZ: I'm unaware
THE COURT: Who is the secretary?
MR. LUTZ: I have no idea.
THE COURT: Who owns Sunlust?
MR. LUTZ: I do not know.
THE COURT: Who signs your checks?
MR. LUTZ: I believe somebody in the accounting department.
THE COURT: What is their name?
MR. LUTZ: To be honest with you, I can't read the signature.
THE COURT: Where is the accounting department located?
MR. LUTZ: I'm sorry?
THE COURT: Where is the accounting department located?
MR. LUTZ: I've received checks from California.
THE COURT: How much are you paid monthly to be the corporate representative?
MR. LUTZ: Again, it depends on my appearances, the number of appearances that I do.
THE COURT: How much were you paid last month?
MR. LUTZ: Approximately $1,000.
And let's see what the Judge though of it:
THE COURT: You can sit away from the table, you're not a corporate representative of anybody if you don't have any information about the corporation.
You're not an officer or principal of the corporation. The Court will exclude you as a proper corporate entity for this Defendant.
So needless to say after that performance, I wouldn't let Lutz near a courtroom either if I was Steele, Hansmeier and Duffy. There is no way they are going to let Lutz give a whiff of testimony under oath about companies he knows barely anything about unless he feigns complete stupidity (which it seems might not be that hard for Lutz after his brilliant performance in the Sunlust cases Q&A session)
Don't think that the Prenda gang will do whatever it takes to keep Lutz from answering anything under oath? Remember when Pietz questioned Hansmeier on one of the Northern California cases, and the deposition was about AF Holdings and how it litigates cases and who runs it and owns it?
Hansmeier went to incredible and often comical lengths to avoid giving Pietz any useful information, in fact this went on for over seven hours of trying to evade giving any answers that could provide any light on AF Holdings.
Hansmeier may have fared better than Lutz did in questioning, but he also declared that no one was every paid out monies out of settlement money received thru litigation and those pesky demand letters that showed up in peoples mailboxes.
The fact that Steele has gone and made all the holding companies, and entities and LLC's and blind trusts to obfuscate who the real owners are and clients of Prenda law and the beneficiaries are of funds has only made it harder for them to keep their stories straight.
They have changed the structures after the fact...AFTER THE FACT when people started looking closer at the real fact of the Prenda cases and the companies behind the lawsuits and the people involved in them.
Lutz is not going to be able to anwser most of the questions thrown at him, he isn't savy enough as Steele to avoid the traps a lawyer can use in questioning a witness.
Steele's biggest issue is his ego and the sound of his own voice and can't stand the fact that his well concocted litigation plan has gone on to wring the bowl while circling the drain.
The mere fact that Lawyers, John & Jane Does and the internet community has delivered Steele's so well thought out scheme to score cash (well Steele thought it was so well planned anyway) has come crashing down with a resounding thud and shattered his confidence and this money making scheme.
While Duffy has tried to minimize the damage and tried to pass himself off as a brilliant legal mind in keeping these cases from getting sanctioned any further it seems to have had the opposite effect and made Judges want to peel the layers of the onion back and see what the stench is and where it is coming from.
I look forward to the litany of excuses Prenda will trot out to keep Lutz from having to appear and answer questions under oath.
I am sure we will hear about Lutz being ill or dying, or of some memeber of Lutz's family being ill or dying, Lutz unable to be able to travel due to being crushed by John's massive ego negating air travel or maybe even Lutz's pet hamster or Goldfish requiring a serious operation and needing Lutz's full attention to help facilitate a speedy recovery post haste.
I expect we will hear about how Lutz went missing ona Mexican fishing trip or hike in the mountains or how he went to some far flung country where there is now cellular or internet service, who knows we may even see pictures of this corporate hero who abstains from taking a salary or any monies to fight copyright crime and injustice appearing in some dark alley in his super hero costume fighting copyright crime.
Could be Lutz is not able to attend court because he has received the revised Star Wars script where he will take on the role of Luke Skywalker's cousin who fight the evil empire (which will now be known as the torrent community) and their newest villain Lord Evader (they called him this because he wouldn't pay that 4.99 rental fee for that porn flick) fighting his way through the troll Galaxy here at Techdirt while defending the MPAA Empire at all costs and rescuing copyright holders from the depths of the evil empire.
With every hearing that happens, Team Prenda goes deeper and deeper in to the abyss.
Duffy didn't want to go near Neville because there would have been more dirt exposed by the defense team on Prenda and their seeding of the files they sued alleged infringers over.
This isn't the first hearing that Lutz the mastermind CEO of AF Holding and it's subsidiaries and LLC entities has failed to appear at.
Now why would Lutz who is so involved in his companies operation and in managing these lawsuits not wan't to disprove all these allegations against himself and Prenda?
Wouldn't have anything to do with that hearing in the Sunlust case in Florida where the Judge started Questioning Lutz who was trying to pass himself off as an officer of Sunlust when it turns out Lutz knew absolutely nothing about anyone associated with Sunlust.
Lutz had to have Steele (who has nothing to do with Prenda Law but just happened to be in the court room for a Prenda case) feed him answers about being a 1099 contractor before the Judge noticed Steele feeding Lutz answers and busted them on it.
I don't blame Steele, Hansmeier and Duffy for not wanting Lutz in a court room, Lutz isn't bright enough to survive any questioning, and would cave much like he did in the Judges questioning in the Sunlust case, how could they trust him.
Steele's fragile ego cqn't seem to keep anything straight, on what he has told in interviews and in prior court filings. Duffy shouldn't even be let near the court room as his skills in trying to break someone boarder on laughable in my mind.
Did Steele, Hansmeier and Duffy really think Gibbs wouldn't have phone records to prove contact with who he was speaking with at Prenda regarding these lawsuits? I mean how stupid are they.
I would bet that Gibbs has more than this, I would believe he has e-mails, voice mails, landline based phone call records, mobile based records as well as faxes, and courier slips.
It should be interesting when the Prenda gang goes to the hearing for the bar complaint against Gibbs everything in that hearing will be on the record and under oath so it should be a hoot to hear the Prenda gang complain and Gibbs coming back at them with all of his trail of records for the various items mentioned above, plus the various rulings against Team Prenda from the various court rooms around the country.
Steele I believe made a very calculated gamble at trying to throw Gibbs under the bus for all this, and it would seem Steele thought he could cow Gibbs into taking the rap and stay quiet.
It should be very very interesting to see if a Grand Jury is looking at RICO where the Prenda gang would be concerned. If a Grand jury is looking at RICO, Steele has just gave it a powerful Allie in Gibbs and documentation and inside knowledge of the scheme.
The above would apply to the IRS Criminal investigation as well as where settlement money went, how monies were used, and who monies where distributed to.
Steele's ego has led to a blunder of colossal proportions in trying to crucify Gibbs in taking the fall, if anything it shows the desperation in Team Prenda to try and stay out of the light that is being shone on it's operations.
This has had the opposite effect and the light is being cast brighter and all the dark spots are being examined. It will be interesting to see what is going to transpire out of the cases Prenda has been trying to get itself out from under, but can do to all their miscues.
Should be interesting to see, I am sure there are many more sleepness nights ahead for old John Steele wondering when the US Marshall's are going to drag him away to a cold jail cell
Assange chose Ecuador out of a matter of convenience and knowing full well that the U.S. and Ecuador don't see eye to eye.
I remember reading how Assange praised Correa, someone who is not know for humanitarian gestures to his own people in Ecuador and is further eroding his own peoples freedoms.
The mere fact that Correa told the press he gave Assange asylum on " Humanitarian ground is irony at it's best, most know this was more a political manoeuver at best ahead of Ecuador elections where Correa was facing the various vocal opponents of his clamping down on the Ecuador peoples freedoms.
How long the happy little show Assange and Correa have going on is going to last who knows. If Correa ever turned on Assange and handed him over to the U.S. it wouldn't be illegal as the U.S. and Ecuador have a an extradition treaty with one another.
Which really makes me wonder why Assange picked Ecuador in the first place? Wouldn't a non extradition treaty country have been better?
That is because the Prenda gang for so long has used the gaps in the system to take advantage of it. These guys have looked for antiquated pieces of legislation and statutes to sue people.
They have done this time and time again, and when it is lucrative and that easy cash is coming in, it is easy to forget your oath to uphold the laws as an officer of the court.
Judges calendar are usually so full they don't notice stuff like this, and the Prenda gang when they faced a Judge that did simply withdrew the cases from that court and re-filed elsewhere.
The Prenda gang Judge Shopped as part of it's strategy and loves to file in states that are overburdened and is troll friendly.
It is only because of opposing counsel and the internet community that started to get word out to the people and the courts that there was something very wrong going on here that Prenda is now finding it self accountable to a degree.
It's just Judges are now turning a skeptical eye to how these guys have played the justice system for ill gotten gains.
I think we all know why Lutz didn't show, there is no way Lutz will make it through a Q&A session.
The Prenda gang will go into damage control mode here and deny, appeal and make motions to dismiss this Judge from re-opening this.
We have all sen how Team Prenda works and the usual tactics they employ when they are in trouble. That being said can anyone here see Steele letting Lutz answer any question regarding anything to do with these trusts and entities that were set up.
Now way is Steele going to let Lutz answer anything, especially after Lutz Q&A session with the Judge in the Sunlust case where Lutz bumbled his way through and Steele had to feed him answers from the gallery before he got caught.
It is the same reason Hansmeier went and answered the questions in the deposition and not Lutz, they know Lutz will get trapped and it will be entered as a matter of record with the court.
I find it highly amazing that Hansmeier who claims to no nothing of these cases much like Steele keeps popping into them and submitting documents to the court about them, now why would that be?
The Prenda gang will do everything they can to keep Lutz away from this, look for Lutz to be unable to be reached for the next while (I am sure John is running out and buying Lutz an airline ticket to Mexico right now).
Lutz will never be able to keep all the stories straight about who and how he owns this and all these different entities and who Salt Marsh and what type of trust these are.
Lutz plain and simple isn't smart enough, and neither is the Prenda gang apparently for a bunch of guys who know nothing about any of this, but yet are submitting documents to the court on it...lol
Should be interesting to say the least, don't sell those popcorn stocks just yet people.
John, how's that suing people for copyright infringement for downloading your seeded porn files going?
Back to chasing ambulances yet? Let me know when you get settled in at the pen, I have some soap on a rope to send you, just need your inmate number. Cheers
I have to kind of laugh at the justification for this. Here we have the Russian government who has been silencing it's political critics and throwing them in jail or charging them with some crime to silence them.
This has also been the case with Journalists who are not government friendly as well as civilian protesters of the Russian government policies.
The you have the Russian governments crackdown on the internet and copyright enforcement and how they seem to be hell bent as stopping that courtesy of the pressure they have had on them from the Hollywood paid for Obama Government.
The irony is stunning that the Russian government will crack down on this but yet do nothing to those in Russia who are running Bot Net, committing financial crimes ranging from credit card fraud and bank fraud to pilfering business accounts through ACH fraud and fraudulent wire transfers that seem to go to Russia all the time and I wont even bring up the spam and pill operations that are ran for there.
But yet they choose to do nothing about the aforementioned groups committing those crimes in not only Russia but many other countries as well. But I guess if you kick back enough to certain people, the Russian government wont bother you.
Once again it shows us all that many governments around the globe will seek to change the rules in the name of saving the children or what ever other cause they want to label it as all in the name of increasing their powers on keeping tabs on not only their citizens but their critics as well.
On the post: Another Big Loss For Team Prenda, As Their Bills Keep Adding Up
Re:
You bang on about there being a conspiracy, but it has nothing to do with content creators getting their money. It's more about the conspiracy to use the court system to engage in legal extortion with a fraudulent victim and various entities and shell companies and offshore LLC's to hide an ongoing criminal enterprise in my opinion.
Once again Paul you make personal attacks, I would have thought someone with your education would have been able to put together a more eloquent remark rather than a high school comeback.
So Paul I have to ask, now that Duffy has learned how little he received of that 1.9 mil You and John have taken out of your trolling profits in 2012, how much has he been complaining about it?
I would gather Duffy was being kept in the dark about how much money was coming in to Prenda from your victims -er- infringers. Duffy must have been a tad upset to see you two were getting big check and he was getting almost next to nothing, must have him a little steamed doesn't it.
Duffy must be wondering why he agreed to sign on as the Prenda principal for such a small taste out of a 1.9 mil haul.
Duffy must be worrying you and old John about whether he will flip like Gibbs did, after all he is a scapegoat here isn't he. That's why he is the principal in Prenda Law, he takes the brunt of the sanctions, he is taking the brunt for the bond, the sanctions, the appearances in various cases.
I am worried for you and John though Paul, I don't know how much longer Duffy will be able to withstand the barrage of court rulings and sanctions and fee awards... never mind his name being dragged through the sewer and the various referrals to the Illinois state bar.
Then you have the possibility of a Grand Jury looking into RICO violations and the IRS Criminal Division investigation that is ongoing, I would have to think Duffy would love to get out from all that strain he is under, after all he is on the hook since his name is the principal of Prenda Law.
I bet when Duffy signed on he was thinking a few quick bucks for just his name on a few documents, easy money right? I bet now he cringes every time Prenda Law's name comes up in the media or court filings because his reputation is just taking a beating in the public eye and never mind legal circles I would believe.
With that being said I am sure you and John must have upped the kitty a little for Duffy from the profits right? You did do that to help keep Duffy from pulling a Gibbs didn't you Paul? I would have if I was in your shoes especially after Gibbs and the Dropbox financial information coming out.
John and you must have been a little sleepless after that bomb hit, I bet there was some frantic phone calls to Duffy telling him "not to believe what Gibbs said was made and that it was only a tenth of that" right?
I have to wonder how much more Duffy is willing to take in this, after all Duffy has judgments against him for monies owed I believe, and then all these sanction orders and fee awards and the cost of flying to these hearings, the bar investigations, the IRS Criminal Division investigations and the possibility of a RICO indictment could be wanting him to get out from all this, especially for that low 5 figure cut he was getting.
Steele I bet is worried that Duffy will pull a Gibbs and not want to be the only guy without a chair when the music stops, I am sure Duffy like Gibbs knows a lot of the inner working of this litigation nightmare.
Must be keeping Steele awake at night knowing his cleverly crafted litigation strategy after cutting the porn companies out of the loop to keep the profits all in house is crashing down, and now he has to worry about Duffy flipping.
Though I would have to believe Duffy was a loyal solider till that Dropbox Financial for 2012 came into the public eye, no maybe not so much...I am sure Duffy is thinking this isn't worth all the strain and financial hits he is taking for so little of a return.
You and John must be calling Duffy two or three times a day to make sure he is still on board and hoping that no one from the IRS Criminal Division has visited him yet and offered him a deal to be a witness in exchange for a lighter penalty and maybe no jail time if there is a case put forward for tax evasion.
And of course if there was a RICO indictment well I am sure someone Paul's age wouldn't like the idea of rattling the bars in a cell for a few years while John is enjoying Florida and you are in Minnesota and working away making money from your ADA suits, probably wouldn't sit well with Duffy.
You have to admit though Duffy would be a great witness in a RICO prosecution and what a sweet deal that would be for him to get out from underneath all of this mess and take all the stress off of him personally and with the wife and the strain his marriage must be under from all of this I would imagine.
But you know Paul I am worried for you, Steele has tried to insulate himself from this by not being an active lawyer, you however still are. I wonder how well your Law practice and your callas action objections are going to fair now that this is all in the light and your name being on all these sanction orders and fee awards, not to mention you ADA lawsuits your filing.... I could see your ability to make money dwindling.
John on the other hand isn't practicing (wink wink) so hsi Bar number isn't in jeopardy as much as your's and Duffy is of course. But what if John starts feeling the pressure of RICO and the IRS Criminal Division investigations?
Think John would be tempted enough to turn witness to get out from under stiff penalties and possible jail time reduced by naming you as the main man, the genius behind all this?
I mean after all you still have some litigation scams -er- strategies in play here and Steele in theory could point to them and say " see look at his litigation that is current , he's the brains behind all of this. That could be bad for you Paul if you had no chair when the music stops.
But I guess it's just my imagination running wild, I am sure Steele and Duffy wouldn't do that to you right Paul.
On the post: Team Prenda's Paul Hansmeier Now Suing Companies Over Supposed ADA Violations
Re: Re:
Nice of you to admit that it's you that has been posting away here...oops didn't mean to come out and give that away did you? Noe worries there, we are used to You, Steele and Duffy pulling a Pretenda.
Not to worry I am sure you will claim it's Mark Lutz posting (You know Mark has lots of time on his hands to post here in between running a multi-faceted organization of various holding companies and shell entities)
So worried about being baited but yet come out and admit it's you posting here in defense of your cellmate -er- partner Steele.
So Paul when you and Steel files that genius move of the Bar complaint about Gibbs, did even occur to you that Gibbs would have had records of phone calls, emails, faxes, courier receipts etc for his case records and billings along with for tax purposes? Just curious about that colossal blunder that brought forward the income you and Steele have been pilfering -er- making from victims -er- infringers.
Bet you weren't counting on the Dropbox details coming out huh...another famed Pretenda oops!
So Paul I have to ask you, now that Duffy realizes how much you and Steele have been making and how little he has received for his efforts, but yet having to take all the media heat and court judgments and bar referrals and being on the hook for this bond, how long do you think it will be before he pulls a Gibbs and switches sides to get out from under?
Honestly Paul you may have just made another new enemy with Duffy seeing how much you guys have been taking and how little has come his way.
Duffy I am sure is feeling the financial strain of all these expenses for court, and for the bond and various sanctions and having to fly around and try and dig out from under all this mess.
I wonder if a Grand Jury that could be looking at a possible RICO case will be looking at Paul to come testify. I would be of the opinion that Duffy must be seething about getting such a minuscule amount of a 1.9 million dollar take.
Duffy would be a very attractive witness for co-operation in a RICO case you would have to believe. Duffy would also be a great witness for the IRS Criminal Division investigators because after all it is Duffy that would be taking the hit since his name is the Principal of Prenda Law.
I bet Old Duffy would love to get out from under, get rid of all the media attention, the financial strain, the peril of his being able to practice due to the bar complaints, the constant court sanctions... how easy this would be to do if he was a witness instead of being on the hook so to speak.
I bet old John and you have had a few conversations about that Bar complaint about Gibbs huh, and how that shouldn't have been done in anger and without some thought eh.
So what are you going to do about Lutz Paul, he can't play the invisible man forever now can he.
I mean lets be honest Paul how long do you think it will be before a Judge orders the U.S. Marshall service to find Mark and bring him to court, can keep making excuses for ever Paul.
Lutz can only not be found, or miss a flight, or have his cat go in for surgery or claim illness so many times before some Judge tires of the litany of "Where's Waldo" starring Mark Lutz sightings.
I have to wonder how long Lutz will last to before he flips, we all know Lutz isn't a corporate genius you and Steele have built him up to be, if he was you boy would have had him in court by now.
I gather that Lutz's performance in Florida where he tried to play corporate representative and bombed so badly upon questioning from the Judge over seeing the case has shaken the belief that he would be able to with stand even the slightest of scrutiny.
I don't blame you at all, I mean Old John leaning forward , desperately trying to whisper answers to Mark to stave off the Judge finding out what was really going on in her courtroom, who would wan't to go thru that again right.
now let's hypothesis for a minute here, you and John sure have your backs in a corner, so Paul let me ask you, I don't think John would do well in Prison if you two were say convicted of RICO and tax evasion, now lets say that did happen (Hypothetically... but hey even we have a dream!)how long do you think it would take John to wan't to cut a deal and try and save himself?
This John would do that after all you have been through since Law School? I have to tell you Paul I am a little concerned for you buddy, I mean you could be the last man standing in all this.
Hypothetically John could say this was all your idea, the suing of down loaders for porn companies, the cutting the porn companies out to not have to give up any share of settlements, the making of your own companies, offshore entities and own porn movies to sue infringers.
John in theory could say you were the mastermind, and point to you using class action suits that are in the midst of settling and then objecting for a go away fee.
Then of course you have this ADA settlement business going on. I could see where John could use this to very convincingly point the finger you way and seeing "he is the brains behind it".
But of course I don't think John would do this to you to avoid facing a RICO case if one were brought forward...NAH!
You and John are tight right.. I am sure it's just my opinion getting the best of me... silly RICO & IRS investigations and all.
Well thanks for dropping by all these months Paul we sure have enjoyed those clever retorts from you. See you on visitation day -er- I mean in the next story comments.
On the post: Team Prenda's Paul Hansmeier Now Suing Companies Over Supposed ADA Violations
Re: Re:
Hansmeier wouldn't have intentionally used misleading information on a WHOIS record now would he?
On the post: Even Senate Intelligence Committee Admits That NSA Oversight Is Often A Game Of 20 Questions
The senate committees will have already worked out the outcome behind closed doors as always, the rest is just a dog and pony show for the public and the media.
From the White House to the various government agencies that go before the senate and house committees have and always will make the back room deals as they always have.
The senate and house reps get an IOU to pull out at a later date or they will get some support for some pet project of theirs.
The Potomac two step is still alive in Washington and will be for years to come and the U.S. citizens are always the one left on the hook.
You can bet is a senator or congressman was having their calls/emails scooped up that there would be heads rolling, but since it just your everyday citizen, well sorry but were expendable.
On the post: Second Silk Road Indictment Details Ulbright's Attempt To Have Former Silk Road Employee Killed
On the post: Report From The Court Room On Latest Prenda Hearing In Minnesota: Another Hearing, Another Mess
Every time Lutz is required to appear there is always some reason Lutz wasn't there. This is like the 3rd or 4 th time now where Lutz has failed to appear.
Now I am not sure of this, but I don't recall Lutz having appeared before Judge Snow, I believe at one time he was supposed to appear, but it's my belief that Lutz had not done so.
I have said this before that Lutz will not appear at any of these upcoming hearings, not after the fiasco in Florida in the Sunlust case.
Lutz just won't survive questioning with out Steele whispering answers in his ear. I love how Steele who is supposedly retired seems to know so much about AF Holdings and copyrights assignments and who said what.
For someone with no involvement with Prenda Law and AF Holdings Steele sure knows a lot, I also recall Stelle said he was a consultant to AF Holdings, so why did Steele not say that in his testimony.
Steele said before that he was a consultant to AF Holdings and he is paid for that. So why did Steele not testify to that in court, or is John's memory lapsing.
I still can't figure out why Flesher was at this hearing when he was questioned by the Judge much like Mark Lutz in the Florida case he was there to testify about what he doesn't know and he gets tossed as a witness, much like Lutz did as a corporate representative of Sunlust(the irony is too funny on that point)
It's the same with Berry's testimony another person who doesn't know anything. Great witnesses there John...lol.
So why didn't this Ray Rogers take the stand to testify about his signatures on the copyright assignments? As a matter of fact why would Ray Rogers sign copyright assignments when he didn't work for AF Holdings?
Hansmeier previously said in the deposition in California by Pietz and Ranallo that Mark Lutz was the Sole employee at AF Holdings and that he take no salary or wage. So why is Rogers signing copyright assignments when he has nothing to do with AF Holdings, and why would he be signing these and then giving them to Steele who said he didn't know anything about the AF Holdings.
I can't wait to hear John explain why VPR International is registered to his sisters address, and why there is a trust named Salt Marsh and his sisters boyfriend is named Anthony Saltmarsh.
I also loved the fact that Hansmeier brought the documents to court to show on a slide but didn't want them in as an exhibit but the Judge entered them in if they were going to be part of Hansmeier's case....Oops!
You can bet those documents are going to get used in other cases or brought to the attention of other Judges where Prenda is having problems.
On the post: Judge Takes On Patent Troll With 'Sham Employee'; Forces Troll To Defend Practice Before A Jury
Hmmmm so these Guy had one sham employee supposedly as the head of the company. Is it just me or does this seem similar to what Prenda has with it's so called client AF Holdings and it's sole CEO/employee Mark Lutz.
I loved the part where the Judge told the lawyer that "the sham employee, and sham office" were going to be part of the Jury trial.
It's good to see the Judge is making these guys take it to trial after refusing to dismiss it. This Judge is definitely holding this troll's feet to the fire.
I still have to wonder if the troll who brought this up isn't related to John Steele, cause man it seems damn close by the shenanigans going on in this case.
On the post: Latest Snowden Leaks Show GCHQ Gleefully Hacking Belgian Telco
"See how forthright we are with the people, now you can trust us!"
Of course no one would believe it anyway since the government and the NSA can't seem to be honest about anything that is going on.
On the post: Record Labels Lawsuit Against Vimeo Lipdubs Moves Forward, With Some Good News And Some Bad News
There are countless people who watch a music video or maybe a clip of a band or artist live show of a song and it peaks a persons interest in that very artist or band.
I myself heard a band song on Vimeo, and then checked out another video of another song from that same album that band put out.
I liked it enough to go and purchase the that full album from the band on iTunes, and now it is on my iPod.
DI am sure there other people who have done the same or something similar with Youtube/Vimeo themselves. Shouldn't the RIAA and Labels look at it as a tool to get your music out to people?
The RIAA and the Labels are so far out of touch with the music indutry and what the people want it isn't even funny. My Friends play in a bamd and have a record deal and they are distributed in the US and Canada by a major Label.
The label though doesn't promote them enough, so they do more self promotion thru their site and thru Youtube/Vimeo and a couple of smaller music genre sites.
They do a lot of self promotion themselves thru social networking as well and have their videos on those sites as well. Why? Because if you not the artist or band of the moment you get no promotional help like say Justin Bieber does.
The RIAA and the Labels are so still stuck on the money they were making from CD sales, that they figure if they snuff out things like Napster that their sales will increase ten fold.
How has that worked out so far? Not so well. Then the RIAA & Labels were crying for more of the share of sales of songs thru vehicles like iTunes and what not.
Instead of adapting and riding the wave to get music across cheaper to people who want that band or artist music they still cling to the CD sales etc.
The Labels and the RIAA are way behind in their thinking, instead of change and adapt they cling to that old CD sale like a heroin addict looking for a fix... for old times sake.
The bands and artists are way better at self promotion and giving the people what they want. Nowadays most bands and artists will allow you to purchase their music digitally off their site or thru other avenues as well as merchandise and yes even CD's.
On the post: EFF And App Developers Alliance To Court: Don't Let Patent Troll Lodsys Avoid Apple's Attempt To Intervene In Bogus Threats
Lodsys just won't give up! Quick someone call that lawyer from Newegg and tell him to come and finish these guys off once and for all.
On the post: How Ruling On WiFi Snooping Means Security Researchers May Face Criminal Liability
So are they telling us that all the miscreants who war drive and invade Wi-Fi will stop dead in their tracks because of this ruling? I doubt that.
The government can't even seem to follow it's own law and those who are there to enforce them and seem to have a broad interpretation of how the law applies to them.
Well this will certainly clear that up.
On the post: Another Court Won't Block Dish's AutoHopper; TV Networks Plan To Shoot Selves In Foot In Response
It is the reason why companies like DISH'S commercial skip option are appealing to people. Yes some people like commercials but not everyone. We all get that this is how the networks make money is by there commercials and they sell that on how many people they reach.
But there are just as many that when a commercial comes on will get up and go to the can, or go let the dog out or actually stop and listen to what the wife is saying.
So how many really watch the commercials? How many of us have seen the commercials so many times we can recite them off by heart.
Maybe I don't want to learn to drive a 18 wheeler, or listen to the Vince the slap chop guy say "look at my nuts", or want to buy Ron Popiels knife set and get all the other shit that comes with it.
Maybe I don't want to watch that Pharmaceutical ad that spends the first 15 seconds telling me how great this pill is and spends the next 45 seconds telling me all the shit that's going to occur if it's side effects kick my ass from taking it.
The networks is concerned about DISH customers missing their commercials, they are more worried about the precedent that might occur if the t.v manufacturers and set top manufacturers start to bring equipment in the likes of what DISH is going to do, but on a different scale to the rest of the consumers who don't care much for commercials.
Then they have a problem on their hands, this was more of a preemptive strike to keep this from occurring. You can bet your ass that if some manufacturer decides to do this for T.V.'s or a set top box that the Networks will be howling at the moon to get the courts and government to stop it.
On the post: Judge Decides The Prenda Buck Should Stop With John Steele And Paul Hansmeier
There was no way that Steele , Hansmeier and Duffy were going to let Lutz answer any questions regarding AF Holdings, not after Lutz's brilliant performance in Florida in the Sunlust Case.
Steele and Hansmeier will delay, appeal, and file to try and stave off having to appear in court and have to give any answers under oath. I would expect them to just try and settle it rather than have to appear and take the fifth again.
Duffy the brilliant legal mind he is shouldn't be repping anyone in this case, lord knows you would hate to see anyone get sentanced to the chair at the rate he is going, nice smackdown by the judge.
The mere fact that the Prenda gang doesn't want to submit any evidence to back up their claims is very telling of how much bullshit is coming from their end of the spectrum.
They failed to get their so called expert Peter Hansmeier who is supposedly their forensic investigator to submit evidence or to refute Nevilles claims that Steele allegedly put these files on TPB for downloading.
As much as Prenda tries to put up this fight they really have no fight in them, and nor can they really fight back, they more try and deflect from the issues rather than supply evidence or testimony to refute them.
It ought to be interesting to see what Judge Chen is going to do here, I doubt he was impressed with the Salt Marsh signature story, but let it slide.
Now that Gibbs had piped up and said he never met Salt Marsh and it was Hansmeier who told me the signature was ok, it should make for interesting moments with Judge Chen.
I expect we will see the usual from Duffy, Hansmeier and Steele in deny, deny, deny and try and delay, delay, delay as per usual procedure from the Prenda gang.
I expect we will see a flurry of late filings and hear about someones pet parrot on life support and how they need to be their in case Pedro takes a turn for the worst.
Now that Gibbs has pretty much gave up the Prenda gang I wonder how far off that RICO grand jury is going to be, I am sure that Gibbs testimony was of great intrest to the IRS Criminal Division as was Duffy's statement that a check was made out to Prenda Law...Oops!
Now of course Hansmeier said that no money were paid out to AF Holdings and the money was in Prenda account for future litigation, but Duffy said that Prenda was winding down and had no money...Hmmm where ever did that settlement money go.
On the post: Prenda's Mark Lutz Doesn't Show Up In Two Key Cases, Has A Reason But Won't Share Because People Might Discuss It
If Duffy knew Lutz wasn't going to show, he would have informed the court forthwith like any lawyer would do as called for by his being an officer of the court.
The mere fact that Duffy knew full well Lutz wasn't going to appear is more of the games Prenda plays with the Legal System and the Courts it has cases before.
We all know there is no way Steele, Hansmeier and Duffy are going to let Lutz sit in court and try and survive questioning from Defense Lawyers representing clients sued by Prenda and it's so called "clients".
Steele, Hansemeier and Duffy needed the week to file a response because they had to get the lie they were going to tell the court straight before they told it, so they don't end up with egg on their face like when Steele makes a comment and then it comes back to bite him in the ass (how's that uploading files going John?)
Nazaire knew as well that Lutz wasn't going to appear in that case as well. If Nazaire didn't know why wouldn't he have piped up to the court that he didn't know where Mr.Lutz was to save himself getting into more sanction trouble with the court.
Prenda's tactics in courts where Judges are looking into the fact of the cases Prenda has before it are always to deny, deny, deny and delay, delay, delay to buy time needed to file an appeal, file a motion to get out of whatever the trouble they are in or to simple file motions to challenge what ever the court or defense is seeking to find information wise.
Steele, Hansmeier and Duffy will not let Lutz near a court and have to give SWORN testimony and answer anything under oath. Can you imagine Lutz trying to answer questions about AF Holdings where he is supposedly the CEO and all of the trusts, entities and LLC's that are involved here?
Please, Lutz couldn't even get thru a simple Q&A question session with the Judge in the Florida case as he was trying to pass himself off as a corporate representative of Sunlust Pictures.
Let's have a look at how well Lutz did in answering the Questions the Judge had in the Sunlust case Prenda filed in Florida:
HE COURT: Mr. Lutz, you're under oath, you have to give truthful answers or you face penalties of perjury. Do you understand that?
MR. LUTZ: Yes.
THE COURT: What is your position with Sunlust?
MR. LUTZ: I'm a representative of them.
THE COURT: What does that mean?
MR. LUTZ: Corporate representative.
THE COURT: What does that mean?
MR. LUTZ: They asked me to appear on various matters throughout the country.
THE COURT: Are you an officer of the company?
MR. LUTZ: I'm not, no.
THE COURT: Are you authorized to bind the company to any legal contracts?
MR. LUTZ: I am not.
THE COURT: Are you salaried?
MR. LUTZ: No, 1099.
THE COURT: So you are a 1099 contracted entity and you just go around and sit in a Court and represent yourself to be the corporate representative of the company?
MR. LUTZ: Yes.
THE COURT: Mr. Torres, did you know this was Mr. Lutz's position, a paid corporate representative?
MR. TORRES: No, Your Honor, I did not.
THE COURT: Who is the president of Sunlust?
MR. LUTZ: I'm unaware.
THE COURT: Who is the vice president?
MR. LUTZ: I'm unaware
THE COURT: Who is the secretary?
MR. LUTZ: I have no idea.
THE COURT: Who owns Sunlust?
MR. LUTZ: I do not know.
THE COURT: Who signs your checks?
MR. LUTZ: I believe somebody in the accounting department.
THE COURT: What is their name?
MR. LUTZ: To be honest with you, I can't read the signature.
THE COURT: Where is the accounting department located?
MR. LUTZ: I'm sorry?
THE COURT: Where is the accounting department located?
MR. LUTZ: I've received checks from California.
THE COURT: How much are you paid monthly to be the corporate representative?
MR. LUTZ: Again, it depends on my appearances, the number of appearances that I do.
THE COURT: How much were you paid last month?
MR. LUTZ: Approximately $1,000.
And let's see what the Judge though of it:
THE COURT: You can sit away from the table, you're not a corporate representative of anybody if you don't have any information about the corporation.
You're not an officer or principal of the corporation. The Court will exclude you as a proper corporate entity for this Defendant.
So needless to say after that performance, I wouldn't let Lutz near a courtroom either if I was Steele, Hansmeier and Duffy. There is no way they are going to let Lutz give a whiff of testimony under oath about companies he knows barely anything about unless he feigns complete stupidity (which it seems might not be that hard for Lutz after his brilliant performance in the Sunlust cases Q&A session)
Don't think that the Prenda gang will do whatever it takes to keep Lutz from answering anything under oath? Remember when Pietz questioned Hansmeier on one of the Northern California cases, and the deposition was about AF Holdings and how it litigates cases and who runs it and owns it?
Hansmeier went to incredible and often comical lengths to avoid giving Pietz any useful information, in fact this went on for over seven hours of trying to evade giving any answers that could provide any light on AF Holdings.
Hansmeier may have fared better than Lutz did in questioning, but he also declared that no one was every paid out monies out of settlement money received thru litigation and those pesky demand letters that showed up in peoples mailboxes.
The fact that Steele has gone and made all the holding companies, and entities and LLC's and blind trusts to obfuscate who the real owners are and clients of Prenda law and the beneficiaries are of funds has only made it harder for them to keep their stories straight.
They have changed the structures after the fact...AFTER THE FACT when people started looking closer at the real fact of the Prenda cases and the companies behind the lawsuits and the people involved in them.
Lutz is not going to be able to anwser most of the questions thrown at him, he isn't savy enough as Steele to avoid the traps a lawyer can use in questioning a witness.
Steele's biggest issue is his ego and the sound of his own voice and can't stand the fact that his well concocted litigation plan has gone on to wring the bowl while circling the drain.
The mere fact that Lawyers, John & Jane Does and the internet community has delivered Steele's so well thought out scheme to score cash (well Steele thought it was so well planned anyway) has come crashing down with a resounding thud and shattered his confidence and this money making scheme.
While Duffy has tried to minimize the damage and tried to pass himself off as a brilliant legal mind in keeping these cases from getting sanctioned any further it seems to have had the opposite effect and made Judges want to peel the layers of the onion back and see what the stench is and where it is coming from.
I look forward to the litany of excuses Prenda will trot out to keep Lutz from having to appear and answer questions under oath.
I am sure we will hear about Lutz being ill or dying, or of some memeber of Lutz's family being ill or dying, Lutz unable to be able to travel due to being crushed by John's massive ego negating air travel or maybe even Lutz's pet hamster or Goldfish requiring a serious operation and needing Lutz's full attention to help facilitate a speedy recovery post haste.
I expect we will hear about how Lutz went missing ona Mexican fishing trip or hike in the mountains or how he went to some far flung country where there is now cellular or internet service, who knows we may even see pictures of this corporate hero who abstains from taking a salary or any monies to fight copyright crime and injustice appearing in some dark alley in his super hero costume fighting copyright crime.
Could be Lutz is not able to attend court because he has received the revised Star Wars script where he will take on the role of Luke Skywalker's cousin who fight the evil empire (which will now be known as the torrent community) and their newest villain Lord Evader (they called him this because he wouldn't pay that 4.99 rental fee for that porn flick) fighting his way through the troll Galaxy here at Techdirt while defending the MPAA Empire at all costs and rescuing copyright holders from the depths of the evil empire.
On the post: Ex-Prenda Lawyer Wonders If Team Prenda Believes Their Own Lies After Laughable Hearing
Duffy didn't want to go near Neville because there would have been more dirt exposed by the defense team on Prenda and their seeding of the files they sued alleged infringers over.
This isn't the first hearing that Lutz the mastermind CEO of AF Holding and it's subsidiaries and LLC entities has failed to appear at.
Now why would Lutz who is so involved in his companies operation and in managing these lawsuits not wan't to disprove all these allegations against himself and Prenda?
Wouldn't have anything to do with that hearing in the Sunlust case in Florida where the Judge started Questioning Lutz who was trying to pass himself off as an officer of Sunlust when it turns out Lutz knew absolutely nothing about anyone associated with Sunlust.
Lutz had to have Steele (who has nothing to do with Prenda Law but just happened to be in the court room for a Prenda case) feed him answers about being a 1099 contractor before the Judge noticed Steele feeding Lutz answers and busted them on it.
I don't blame Steele, Hansmeier and Duffy for not wanting Lutz in a court room, Lutz isn't bright enough to survive any questioning, and would cave much like he did in the Judges questioning in the Sunlust case, how could they trust him.
Steele's fragile ego cqn't seem to keep anything straight, on what he has told in interviews and in prior court filings. Duffy shouldn't even be let near the court room as his skills in trying to break someone boarder on laughable in my mind.
Did Steele, Hansmeier and Duffy really think Gibbs wouldn't have phone records to prove contact with who he was speaking with at Prenda regarding these lawsuits? I mean how stupid are they.
I would bet that Gibbs has more than this, I would believe he has e-mails, voice mails, landline based phone call records, mobile based records as well as faxes, and courier slips.
It should be interesting when the Prenda gang goes to the hearing for the bar complaint against Gibbs everything in that hearing will be on the record and under oath so it should be a hoot to hear the Prenda gang complain and Gibbs coming back at them with all of his trail of records for the various items mentioned above, plus the various rulings against Team Prenda from the various court rooms around the country.
Steele I believe made a very calculated gamble at trying to throw Gibbs under the bus for all this, and it would seem Steele thought he could cow Gibbs into taking the rap and stay quiet.
It should be very very interesting to see if a Grand Jury is looking at RICO where the Prenda gang would be concerned. If a Grand jury is looking at RICO, Steele has just gave it a powerful Allie in Gibbs and documentation and inside knowledge of the scheme.
The above would apply to the IRS Criminal investigation as well as where settlement money went, how monies were used, and who monies where distributed to.
Steele's ego has led to a blunder of colossal proportions in trying to crucify Gibbs in taking the fall, if anything it shows the desperation in Team Prenda to try and stay out of the light that is being shone on it's operations.
This has had the opposite effect and the light is being cast brighter and all the dark spots are being examined. It will be interesting to see what is going to transpire out of the cases Prenda has been trying to get itself out from under, but can do to all their miscues.
Should be interesting to see, I am sure there are many more sleepness nights ahead for old John Steele wondering when the US Marshall's are going to drag him away to a cold jail cell
On the post: Ecuador Looks To Ban Wikileaks-like Offerings, Despite 'Housing' Assange
I remember reading how Assange praised Correa, someone who is not know for humanitarian gestures to his own people in Ecuador and is further eroding his own peoples freedoms.
The mere fact that Correa told the press he gave Assange asylum on " Humanitarian ground is irony at it's best, most know this was more a political manoeuver at best ahead of Ecuador elections where Correa was facing the various vocal opponents of his clamping down on the Ecuador peoples freedoms.
How long the happy little show Assange and Correa have going on is going to last who knows. If Correa ever turned on Assange and handed him over to the U.S. it wouldn't be illegal as the U.S. and Ecuador have a an extradition treaty with one another.
Which really makes me wonder why Assange picked Ecuador in the first place? Wouldn't a non extradition treaty country have been better?
On the post: Courts Start Demanding Actual Answers From Team Prenda
Re:
They have done this time and time again, and when it is lucrative and that easy cash is coming in, it is easy to forget your oath to uphold the laws as an officer of the court.
Judges calendar are usually so full they don't notice stuff like this, and the Prenda gang when they faced a Judge that did simply withdrew the cases from that court and re-filed elsewhere.
The Prenda gang Judge Shopped as part of it's strategy and loves to file in states that are overburdened and is troll friendly.
It is only because of opposing counsel and the internet community that started to get word out to the people and the courts that there was something very wrong going on here that Prenda is now finding it self accountable to a degree.
It's just Judges are now turning a skeptical eye to how these guys have played the justice system for ill gotten gains.
On the post: Courts Start Demanding Actual Answers From Team Prenda
Re: Lutz deposition
The Prenda gang will go into damage control mode here and deny, appeal and make motions to dismiss this Judge from re-opening this.
We have all sen how Team Prenda works and the usual tactics they employ when they are in trouble. That being said can anyone here see Steele letting Lutz answer any question regarding anything to do with these trusts and entities that were set up.
Now way is Steele going to let Lutz answer anything, especially after Lutz Q&A session with the Judge in the Sunlust case where Lutz bumbled his way through and Steele had to feed him answers from the gallery before he got caught.
It is the same reason Hansmeier went and answered the questions in the deposition and not Lutz, they know Lutz will get trapped and it will be entered as a matter of record with the court.
I find it highly amazing that Hansmeier who claims to no nothing of these cases much like Steele keeps popping into them and submitting documents to the court about them, now why would that be?
The Prenda gang will do everything they can to keep Lutz away from this, look for Lutz to be unable to be reached for the next while (I am sure John is running out and buying Lutz an airline ticket to Mexico right now).
Lutz will never be able to keep all the stories straight about who and how he owns this and all these different entities and who Salt Marsh and what type of trust these are.
Lutz plain and simple isn't smart enough, and neither is the Prenda gang apparently for a bunch of guys who know nothing about any of this, but yet are submitting documents to the court on it...lol
Should be interesting to say the least, don't sell those popcorn stocks just yet people.
On the post: Russia Prepares To Block Tor And Anonymizing Proxies
Re: Re: Blocking TOR
Back to chasing ambulances yet? Let me know when you get settled in at the pen, I have some soap on a rope to send you, just need your inmate number. Cheers
On the post: Russia Prepares To Block Tor And Anonymizing Proxies
This has also been the case with Journalists who are not government friendly as well as civilian protesters of the Russian government policies.
The you have the Russian governments crackdown on the internet and copyright enforcement and how they seem to be hell bent as stopping that courtesy of the pressure they have had on them from the Hollywood paid for Obama Government.
The irony is stunning that the Russian government will crack down on this but yet do nothing to those in Russia who are running Bot Net, committing financial crimes ranging from credit card fraud and bank fraud to pilfering business accounts through ACH fraud and fraudulent wire transfers that seem to go to Russia all the time and I wont even bring up the spam and pill operations that are ran for there.
But yet they choose to do nothing about the aforementioned groups committing those crimes in not only Russia but many other countries as well. But I guess if you kick back enough to certain people, the Russian government wont bother you.
Once again it shows us all that many governments around the globe will seek to change the rules in the name of saving the children or what ever other cause they want to label it as all in the name of increasing their powers on keeping tabs on not only their citizens but their critics as well.
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