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Prenda Law attorney John Steele has been disbarred by the Illinois Supreme Court:
After admitting to several criminal acts, including the operation of a piracy honeypot, Prenda Law attorney John Steele has now been disbarred by the Illinois Supreme Court. As a result, the troubled attorney will no longer be allowed to practice law in the state. While the decision doesn't come as a surprise, several victims of the trolling operation will welcome it with a smile.
Over the years, copyright trolls have been accused of involvement in various dubious schemes and actions, but there's one group that has gone above and beyond.
Prenda Law grabbed dozens of headlines, mostly surrounding negative court rulings over identity theft, misrepresentation and even deception. Most controversial was the shocking revelation that Prenda uploaded their own torrents to The Pirate Bay, creating a honeypot for the people they later sued over pirated downloads.
The allegations also raised the interest of the US Department of Justice, which indicted Prenda principals John Steele and Paul Hansmeier late last year. The two stand accused of running a multi-million dollar fraud and extortion operation.
A few weeks ago Steele pleaded guilty, admitting among other things that they did indeed use The Pirate Bay to operate a honeypot for online pirates. Following the guilty plea the Illinois Supreme Court, which started looking into the case long before the indictment, has now decided to disbar the attorney. This means that Steele no longer has the right to practice law.
Also at Ars Technica.
Previously:
Appeals Court Slams Prenda Law
Appeals Court: Shell Game Over, Prenda Law Must Pay Sanctions in Full
Prenda-Linked Copyright Trolling Lawyer Paul Duffy Dead at Age 55
Smut-Seeding Prenda Law Ringleader Told to Sell his House to Pay $2.9M Debt
Prenda's Paul Hansmeier Loses his Law License; Won't be Filing Bogus ADA Lawsuits for Now
Prenda Law "Copyright Trolls" Finally Getting Their Comeuppance
Indicted Prenda Lawyer Also Under FBI Investigation
(Score: 2) by goodie on Tuesday May 23 2017, @04:41PM (1 child)
I mean, it took that much to get there but at least that's one less. Now onto the others maybe? It's too bad it took so long and these people have screwed over so many people's lives by racketeering them into paying money though.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday May 23 2017, @04:56PM
The wheels of justice turn slowly.
In this case they turned rapidly, and I would still consider that slowly. As soon as Prenda went after someone who would fight this, the scam was recognized by courts, and they reacted, slowly as they do. IIRC, it was judge Wright that got the IRS and bar associations involved. Still the wheels slowly turned. But slowly.
Future criminals take note. Plan to get away with it for only a few years, depending on how things are going in the courts. Have an exit plan.
When trying to solve a problem don't ask who suffers from the problem, ask who profits from the problem.