TechDirt reports:
Prenda Law's Paul Hansmeier, infamous for constantly scheming about ways to use the judicial process to [shake down] people for money and pompously overstating his own position (e.g., "welcome to the big leagues") has now lost his license to practice law.[PDF] The order from the Minnesota Supreme Court rather matter-of-factly lays out the claims against Hansmeier (amazingly, he seems to get off lightly given how much other stuff he did):
Hansmeier committed misconduct in the first matter by bringing a lawsuit for the sole purpose of conducting discovery to find the identity of others against whom claims could be made, making misrepresentations to the tribunal, filing articles of termination for a corporation that contained false statements. failing to comply with discovery requests, failing to pay attorney fees assessed against him, and transferring funds out of his law firm in order to avoid paying sanctions. In a second matter, Hansmeier committed misconduct by participating in the initiation of a lawsuit without a basis in law and fact, making false and misleading statements to the court, failing to pay attorney fees assessed against him by the court, and submitting to the court a financial statement that was false, misleading, and deceptive. In a third matter, Hansmeier committed misconduct by bringing a frivolous action for an improper purpose. And in a fourth matter, Hansmeier committed misconduct by testifying falsely during a deposition, bringing a frivolous claim, and perpetrating a fraud upon the court.
[...] Respondent Paul Robert Hansmeier is indefinitely suspended from the practice of law, effective 14 days from the date of this order, with no right to petition for reinstatement for 4 years from the effective date of his suspension.
Of course, when we last checked in with Hansmeier he was aggressively filing questionable ADA lawsuits, basically shaking down small retail stores for any possible violation of the ADA he could find.
[...] Hansmeier has now had his assets liquidated in bankruptcy and his law license taken away. What's next? Well, last we'd heard, it sounded like criminal charges were getting closer, so perhaps he has that to look forward to as well.
Previous copyright trolling, etc. by Prenda.
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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: 1) by cmdrklarg on Thursday September 15 2016, @09:11PM
The world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams.
(Score: 2) by PartTimeZombie on Thursday September 15 2016, @10:54PM
I won't be, it's been very entertaining reading about the adventures of these scumbags, but then I'm not the one being sued under dodgy circumstances, so that's easy for me to say.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by rts008 on Thursday September 15 2016, @09:42PM
Glad to see him shut down, but I would have preferred seeing some harsher punishment.
I would suggest a good and proper keel-hauling, then some good old tarring and feathers, then drawn and quartered, then the remains tossed into an active volcano. Well, we can be generous and skip the volcano if he shows sufficient remorse.
Nah, on second thought, strike the volcano skipping...into the volcano with this scumbag.
(Score: 2) by WillR on Friday September 16 2016, @01:45PM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 15 2016, @09:56PM
He will be missed.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 15 2016, @10:26PM
"He won't be missed."
FTFY
(Score: 4, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 16 2016, @02:49AM
That's what reloading is for.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday September 16 2016, @01:16AM
Seriously, when do they start on RIAA, MPAA, and their relatives?
(Score: 4, Insightful) by bradley13 on Friday September 16 2016, @04:02AM
The whole Prenda thing made headlines, because it is so unusual to see the law profession clean up its garbage. There are tens, maybe hundreds of thousands of shysters out there. Chasing ambulances, suing victims, filing baseless class action suits, blackmailing businesses with ADA threats, trolling patents, etc, etc, etc..
When you see a group of kids picking up litter along the road, you think "wow, that's great". The thing is: the trash shouldn't be there in the first place.
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 1) by AssCork on Friday September 16 2016, @02:17PM
When you see a group of kids picking up litter along the road, you think "wow, that's great".
Odd, when I see that, I think "Yep. Community Service for being little shits" as I chuck whatever refuse I have in the truck at them.
Just popped-out of a tight spot. Came out mostly clean, too.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 16 2016, @05:30PM
Yep, nothing like discouraging people from the Adopt-a-Highway program. It makes me jizz in my pants. All the black smoke coming out of my truck's stacks makes me jizz in my pants. The jacked up suspension and Confederate flag make me jizz in my pants. Being an asshole makes me jizz in my pants. Jizzing in my pants makes me jizz in my pants. Jizz in my pants jizz in my pants in my pants jizz in my pants.
(Score: 1) by Oakenshield on Friday September 16 2016, @06:23PM
Congratulations on winning the award for being the biggest asshole on the planet. It is well deserved.
For your information, the Boy Scouts (and Cub Scouts, including my own children) along with other youth groups pick up the trash from assholes like you as service projects for the community.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 16 2016, @05:59PM
A friendly welcome to small league! Don't be frightened, everyone is super super nice.