IA - WEBSITE SCAM: Wrongfully Accused ‘Pedophiles’

Original Article

This site doesn't look familiar, but you can see more here.

We do believe the site is the PotentialProstitutes.com or PotentialPredators.com site(s).

05/09/2013

By Aaron Brilbeck

On the surface it seems like a good idea. A website where neighbors can anonymously warn each other about sexual predators living in their neighborhoods. The site, which we are not identifying, proudly boasts ”we operate based on the efforts from (sic) motivated members of their local communities who have at one point or another come into contact with a potential predator.” and “These offenders should be taught a lesson before their actions escalate.”

But here`s the problem. Because the tips are given anonymously, the site claims no responsibility for accuracy. Anyone can post personal information about anyone including pictures, addresses, phone numbers…regardless of whether that person is actually a sexual predator. The administrators of the site credit the Communications Decency Act for that. According to the site “If you are considering suing (the site) because of a profile that you claim is defamatory, you should be aware that, to date, (the site) has never lost a case.” and that, because of the Communications Decency Act, “The site itself cannot be held legally responsible for the posted material” because material is posted by anonymous sources.

And the only way to have that information removed is to pay the administrators of the site $100, according to the site, “Due to the costs associated with altering the content of the site on an individual basis.” That`s the scam.

[name withheld] of Des Moines is listed on the site. He isn`t a sex offender..and suspects an ex-girlfriend posted his information—labeling him a pedophile online. “Oh, I`m really angry. It`s shameful to have that kind of a label. I`m a pretty proud person. I don`t do anything to make myself look bad. At least I try not to. So yeah, that`s about a bad a thing as you can have happen to you.” [name withheld] says.

He won`t pay the hundred bucks…he refuses to be black mailed. But he`s also worried about his reputation. “Absolutely. I`ve got a good reputation. 50 years old. I`ve been around a while. Lived my life. Worked hard. Earned a living. Provided for myself and my family. To have my name drug through the dirt like this is nothing I would have ever expected.”

We`re not releasing the name of the site…we don`t want to help their business. But they`re smart . They are using a proxy so we can`t find out exactly where they`re operating from. So we called the FBI.

“It`s definitely illegal. We`re definitely aware of it. And we are taking steps to address it.” says FBI spokeswoman Sandy Breault, “The most important thing is do not pay the money. Do not fall victim to these type of people. It`s a scam and paying the money is not going to get you off the website.”

Because it`s an ongoing investigation, the FBI can`t tell us much about what they know. They warn against paying the money though because then the administrators will have more personal information about you. What we know is the site has been up and down for a few weeks now…but it still posts the names of people like [name withheld]…and their names can be found on the site using common search engines. That`s why he`s talking to us.

“I guess I`d rather have it out there and let everybody out there know that this is a bunch of crap rather than people talk behind my back. Giving me a dirty look walking down the street or in the store. Or any of my friends friends.” he says.

We sent several e-mails to the administrators of the site, but no one ever got back to us.

The FBI is asking victims, like [name withheld], to be patient…they`re working on shutting the site down. But [name withheld] says that can`t happen soon enough. Every day the site is up, he says, his reputation becomes more tarnished. “Really it`s worth trashing somebody`s name just to get a hundred dollars?” he asks, “I mean how pathetic are you? Just a worthless…most worthless type person.”
- There are a ton of these types of sites out there, SORARCHIVES.COM is one, which also needs to be shut down and the owners in prison.

If your name appears on the site, you will receive an e-mail from the administrators asking for $100 to have it removed. The FBI asks that you report it here.

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CA - Offenders Complain of Online Extortion

Original Article

03/22/2013

By REBEKAH KEARN

LOS ANGELES (CN) - Five Arizona men conspired to extort sex offenders by claiming they will take their names and photos off websites for $500, but leaving the information online whether their victims pay or not, 10 sex offenders claim in a federal RICO complaint.

Eight John Does and two Jane Does sued (PDF) five Arizona men, claiming they use websites to extort money from registered sex offenders, and from sex offenders who no longer have to register.

The defendants are Brent Oesterblad of Paradise Valley, David Oesterblad of Tempe, Chuck Rodrick II, Charles David Gilson, and Traci Heisig, all of Desert Hills.
- Visit Offendextortion.com for more info.

"This action challenges defendants' ... conspiracy to violate the RICO Act through a pattern of racketeering activity, including but not limited to extortion of plaintiffs by requiring payment to remove their names, photographs, and/or identifications as 'sex offenders' from multiple websites available to the public," the complaint states.

"This action also challenges defendants' publication of plaintiffs' names and photographs on websites available to the public without plaintiffs' prior consent in violation of the California right of publicity, California Civil Code §3344, as well as defendants' intentional infliction of emotional distress upon plaintiffs."

Plaintiffs say their names and photos have been posted on the websites SORarchives, Offendex and Online Detective, which are not named as parties to the complaint.

But the plaintiffs claim the defendants either own, operate, maintain or work for the three sites, which are accessible by anyone in the United States.

"Defendants' publication of plaintiffs' names and photographs as well as their identification of a sex offender on three public websites is outrageous conduct because it knowingly placed plaintiffs at risk of grave physical harm, even death, unemployment, and homelessness," the complaint states.

Though the websites publish both the John and Jane Does' names and pictures, they list only the John Does as sex offenders, according to the complaint.

Jane Doe No. 9 says she never has committed a sexual crime and is not a sex offender, but lives with her husband, John Doe No. 4, who has not had to register as a sex offender since January this year.

Jane Doe No. 10 says she never committed a sexual crime, but lives with her son, John Doe No. 5, who is not required to register as a sex offender.

"Defendants have conspired to extort money from plaintiffs by requiring each of them to pay for removal of their names and photographs from the 'SORarchives' website," the complaint states. "Plaintiffs have paid defendants to remove this information from the 'SORarchives' website; however, the information continues to be published therein."

The Does claim the defendants also "conspired to extort money from plaintiffs when they required plaintiffs to pay up to $500 for removal of their names and photographs" from Offendex and Online Detective. The plaintiffs say they refused to pay, so the defendants continued to publish their personal information on those sites.

The Does claim the defendants "gained great pecuniary benefit from the unauthorized use of plaintiffs' names and images by using them to build their businesses and promote their services."

The Does acknowledge that their names and photographs are part of the public record, but say this "does not relieve defendants of the obligation to obtain consent from those whose persona they are exploiting for personal gain."

They claim: "The enterprise which has created, operated, and maintained the websites has conducted in racketeering activity due to its extortion of funds from plaintiffs."

And: "Plaintiffs have suffered severe emotional distress, including public humiliation and depression, due to risk of grave physical harm, lost employment opportunities, and inability to obtain adequate housing."

The plaintiffs seek actual, punitive and treble damages for RICO violations, violations of the right of publicity, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

They also want temporary and permanent injunctions and an order "requiring defendants to divest themselves of any interest, direct or indirect, in any website."

They are represented by Janice M. Bellucci of Santa Maria.

See Also:

• Do you know of any web sites who use public records to extort people out of money?

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GA - Commercial mug shot bill clears Ga. Senate

Original Article

It's about time they saw this and did something about it. Now hopefully all other states will follow suit. This extortion is a major problem as you can see more by clicking the "Offendex" or "Extortion" links below the title.

03/26/2013

By Paul Crawley

ATLANTA - They've become popular viewing on the Internet, but pretty soon those online arrest mug shot websites could get some handcuffs of their own from Georgia's state legislature.

Monday evening, the State Senate overwhelmingly passed HB-150 (PDF) by a vote of 53 to 0.

Sponsored by Rep. Roger Bruce (D-Atlanta), the bill would force those mug shot websites to take down photos of those who've been cleared without charging them for it.
- It should take down everything, or if they are going to leave them up, stop extorting people to remove their photo, extortion is a crime.

"Extortion" is what Bruce calls the common practice of mug shot websites to charge people hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, to remove the embarrassing photos.

Last December, 11Alive told you about Sophia Andrade, who's been haunted by hers for almost three years. She was arrested for domestic violence in Florida, but the charge was dropped and her record cleared.

Yet her mug shot is still out there, which she calls embarrassing and an obstacle to job hunting.

She's just one of more than 40 people who contacted Rep. Bruce to complain that the only way to get their photos taken off the Internet was to pay those websites large sums of money, and that still wasn't a guarantee.

Bruce's bill already cleared the State House, but Monday evening it was amended with the words "publicly available" to exempt legitimate law enforcement and news media outlets from using arrest photos.

Bruce did not object to clearing up what some consider a free speech issue.
- Extortion is not free speech, it's a crime!

His bill would still require commercial mug shot sites to remove photos of those cleared within 30 days.

The bill now goes back to the House where it will have to vote on the Senate wording change.

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Offendex.com and other mug shot sites are putting ex-sex offenders, families, children and innocent people's lives in danger!

Original Article

07/01/2012

Question:
I just moved to a new house. Shortly after moving in, I found out that a previous tenant had been a registered sex offender with his address (now my address) listed. Although the state sex offender registry rightfully has delisted my address, it is still listed on private Internet registries who have not responded to my request to remove my address. One site, Offendex.com, even wants me to pay them 200 dollars, otherwise they will NEVER take it off! I really don't have the money for a lawyer to fight this, but I've had two windows broken and my car key-scratched, as well as get late-night honks and shouts of "pervert!" all the time, and I'm frankly scared for my family's safety. Local law enforcement is powerless to do anything. What can I do?

Answer:
Contact the attorney general's consumer protection office and see if they can help or point you in the right direction. It is almost extortion to make you pay to have information corrected. The sex offender's name and associated address is supposed to be the information supplied to the public not an address. You may have an injury suit and if a personal injury attorney took the case, they work for a percentage of anything collected, not an upfront fee.

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CA - California Reform Sex Offender Laws Challenges Websites in Federal District Court

Original Article

03/20/2013

California Reform Sex Offender Laws (CA RSOL) filed a lawsuit (PDF) in federal district court today challenging websites which identify individuals as sex offenders and include their personal information, including names, photos, and home addresses as well as demand up to $500 for removal of that information from the websites.

“It is time to stop the extortion of more than 750,000 individuals in this country,” stated Janice Bellucci, President of CA RSOL. “Those who work for or with these websites have engaged, and continue to engage, in a pattern of racketeering activities.”

According to the lawsuit, individuals connected with three websites – Offendex, Online Detective and SORarchives have violated both federal and state laws. The laws include the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (18 U.S.C. 1961 et seq.), the right of publicity (California Civil Code 3344) as well as the intentional infliction of emotional distress.

“We’ve heard so many stories of people who have completed their registration period and yet are unable to move on with their lives,” stated Brenda Jones, Executive Director of Reform Sex Offender Laws, Inc. “The only way they can be free is to submit to the extortion of profiteers like Offendex and that is simply appalling.”

There are a total of 10 plaintiffs in the lawsuit, including residents from five states (California, Washington, Oregon, Kentucky and Tennessee). Plaintiffs include individuals convicted of sex-related offenses as well as one wife and one mother who have never been convicted of a crime.

“For-profit companies that provide false information about a former offender cause collateral damage to the families of offenders,” stated Vicki Henry, Director of Women Against Registry. “The additional financial burdens placed on the families by the companies that require a fee for removal from their website and the misinterpretation of the individual significantly limit the employment opportunities of a former offender.”

The lawsuit was filed today in U.S.District Court, Central District of California, Western Division in Los Angeles, California. Organizations providing support, including financial support, to this effort include Women Against Registry, Reform Sex Offender Laws, Inc., and Families Against the Registry (Facebook).

See Also:

• Do you know of any web sites who use public records to extort people out of money?

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OH - Web sites profiting from mug shots sued

Scott Ciolek

Original Article

There are a ton of these sites, and he should really check out Offendex.com.

Update: Offendex.com has now split into another site called SORARCHIVES.COM possibly due to this site: OFFENDEXTORTION.COM.

12/05/2012

By TAYLOR DUNGJEN

There’s a good chance that if you’ve been arrested in the past decade, your mugshot is available online, probably on numerous Web sites.

A Toledo-based lawyer, Scott Ciolek (Facebook), is taking on at least five of these sites, of which there are dozens, in a class-action lawsuit filed Monday in Lucas County Common Pleas Court.

The suit claims that more than 259,000 Ohioans have been cataloged on various mugshot Web sites and, to have a photo removed — even if an individual has been found not guilty or the charges were dismissed — the sites charge a removal fee.

“They have to pay these Web sites to remove their photo, which is extortion,” Mr. Ciolek said.

The suit names two plaintiffs: [name withheld], of Holland, and [name withheld], of Toledo. Five defendants are named: justmugshots.com, bustedmugshots.com, mugshotsonline.com, findmugshots.com, and mugremove.com.

None of the defendants returned calls or e-mails for comment.

More plaintiffs and defendants could be named, Mr. Ciolek said.

Although Mr. [name withheld]’s 2011 failure to disperse charge was dismissed earlier this year, his mugshot remains online.

He estimates he’s gotten at least a dozen calls and messages from people asking if he’s seen his photo online.

Mr. [name withheld], a freelance graphic designer and copywriter, said he isn’t sure how much of an impact his eternal presence on the Internet could be keeping him from full-time employment.

“I don't get a lot of call-backs,” he said. “One of the first things people do is type a name into Google. I think it’s affected my opportunities at more gainful employment. It affects a lot of peoples’ chances at employment.”

He said he’s willing to “dig up” the arrest again in hopes of ending the practice of “eternally running somebody’s photos whose case has been dismissed. … This is the illegal selling of peoples’ images. You can’t sell someone’s likeness back to them.”

Mr. Ciolek said he represented Ms. [name withheld] in 2011 when she was accused of theft. All of the charges were dropped and her record was sealed.

Even still, her mugshot remains online. Should Ms. [name withheld] wish to have her mugshot removed from justmugshots.com, for example, she has two options: appeal or pay up. Because her charges were dismissed, she qualifies for a “courtesy removal,” according to justmugshots.com.

Ms. [name withheld] must, in her appeal, send a statement about why she qualifies for free removal (dismissed charges, not-guilty verdicts, and death are the only qualifiers) and proof from a government agency.

Each appeal application is assessed and, if the individual qualifies, information will be removed from the site, though it could take 10 business days, plus additional time for the photo to be removed from search engine results.

An expedited removal is available for a fee. A “standard removal” costs $119.99; a “professional removal” costs $159.99 and includes requests to search engines, such as Google, to remove a mugshot.

Publishing the mugshots isn’t the problem — the photos are public record, available to anyone.

Lucas County Sheriff Lt. Tricia White and Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn both said their respective jails’ booking photos are available, but they do not provide them to third-party sites.

“They get them from our Web site,” Lieutenant White said. “We’re not forwarding them on to third parties.”

The legal issues don’t begin until a company starts to profit from the photos, Mr. Ciolek said.

“The real issue lies in the commercial use of it,” Mr. Ciolek said, citing Ohio’s right of publicity law. The law, basically, states that a persona cannot be used for commercial gain without the individual’s written consent. Newsworthiness, public affairs, and sports broadcasts are the few exceptions.

Steve Miller, chairman of the American Civil Liberties Union’s northwest Ohio chapter, said he could not speak specifically on the lawsuit, but said third-party mugshot Web sites are not illegal.

“The ACLU stands for transparency, and what they’re publishing is public record,” said Mr. Miller, whose mugshot from a 2007 arrest is on mugshotsonline.com. “They have the right to publish them if they choose. … And as far as the class-action suit, we can’t comment on a suit like that or litigation unless we’re familiar with it.”

Mr. Miller was one of four members of the Northwest Ohio Peace Coalition arrested for criminal trespassing in 2007, after they refused to leave U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur’s Toledo office.

Mr. Ciolek said there is “a little bit of evidence” that would suggest some of the Web sites are in cahoots with one another, receiving payment from an individual for the removal of their photo, with the photo then showing up on another site.

The defendants have not yet been served with the suits, which were mailed Monday, Mr. Ciolek said.

He has created a Web site for Ohio residents whose mugshots have been posted on any private site at http://counselor.pro/articles/class-action-against-mugshot-websites.

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IN - Possible civil suite against OFFENDEX.COM

The following was sent to us via the contact form and posted with the users permission.

Update: Offendex.com has now split into another site called SORARCHIVES.COM possibly due to this site: OFFENDEXTORTION.COM.

By Larry:
I am needing help gathering people who feel they have a claim against Offendex.com I am in contact with two leading attorneys out of Indiana and they haven't picked up the case yet but they are looking hard at it. Regardless if they take it or not we are pushing forward with a lawsuit against them. There are 6-7 of us now and we stay in constant contact with each other and 4 of them came from the post here about Offendex extortion that is now closed (It's not closed, it's here). My email is lrared@yahoo.com and the site we are building is http://offendexextortion.co.cc. I'm no website builder. Anything you can think of to help would be greatly appreciated.

UPDATE: Apparently the above .CC site has been shut down, but a new one has been created, here.

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OFFENDEX - Putting lives in danger for profit - And using old out-dated information?

Original Article

What this site is doing is basically extortion! They are scouring the public registries and filling their own database with information, and apparently a lot of it is out dated, since they never remove it. How is this not extortion? Well, I don't see where they are making threats, but it's still exploitation and using the registry to harass others and also make money from public records, which I thought was illegal?

Update: Offendex.com has now split into another site called SORARCHIVES.COM possibly due to this site: OFFENDEXTORTION.COM.

07/01/2012

I just moved to a new house. Shortly after moving in, I found out that a previous tenant had been a registered sex offender with his address (now my address) listed. Although the state sex offender registry rightfully has delisted my address, it is still listed on private Internet registries who have not responded to my request to remove my address. One site, Offendex.com, even wants me to pay them 200 dollars, otherwise they will NEVER take it off! I really don't have the money for a lawyer to fight this, but I've had two windows broken and my car key-scratched, as well as get late-night honks and shouts of "pervert!" all the time, and I'm frankly scared for my family's safety. Local law enforcement is powerless to do anything. What can I do?

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Get info and help

The following was sent to us via the contact form and posted with the users permission.

Update: Offendex.com has now split into another site called SORARCHIVES.COM possibly due to this site: OFFENDEXTORTION.COM.

By M:
Hi Dear,

In the below website there is information of someone who where living with me about two years ago. Now he moved out of because of all hard times he had (just need to mention he was wrongly accused and labeled as sex offender according to a stupid chat for a TV show). I recently searched his name in Google, and find this website (Offendex.com) which has his information with his old address (my address). He is not living here anymore and I don’t like my address to be published. I am alone female and scare of all unexpected harassment that may accrue because of my address is published. I wanted to request to remove the information from the web site, but the web site requesting money!!!! The interesting part is that in the website they are advertising: there is a limited time for the people who are in their website to be removed without asking any questions of them (by paying money to them of curse). I would like to ask you some help and advice regarding this matter, please. Do you familiar with this website, and their activity? I am wondering how they can make this nasty business? Is this legal as they claim in their website or illegal? Is there anything that I can do regarding this? I will be really appreciated your advice in advance.

Thank You,

See Also:

• Why is OFFENDEX getting away with extortion?

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Why is OFFENDEX getting away with extortion?

Update: Offendex.com has now split into another site called SORARCHIVES.COM possibly due to this site: OFFENDEXTORTION.COM.

The Offendex web site scours the public sex offender records throughout the United States and collects the data in their own personal database. And even if a person is not listed publicly or has since been removed from the registry due to court order or because they are deceased, they still keep the information online, and in order to remove yourself or a loved one from their site, you must pay them a huge fee to get the record removed, and even then they admit, the record may or may not be removed.

So how are they getting away with extortion? Isn't that a crime in almost every state?

View their FAQ page here

NOTE: If you know of other sites who appear to be profiting from the sex offender hysteria by posting lies and/or disinformation, please contact us with all the needed information, or go here and fill out the form.  If you have been removed from your states registry, then check the Offendex web site (link below) and see if you are on their web site.  If so, you should contact the state Attorney General, the police or a lawyer to see what you can do to get them to remove your personal information.

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IN - Vigilante Registry - Extortion

The following was sent to us via the contact form and posted with the users permission.

Update: Offendex.com has now split into another site called SORARCHIVES.COM possibly due to this site: OFFENDEXTORTION.COM.

By M:
I am a resident of Indiana. I was convicted of an offense in 1993. In 2001 I was forced to register. In 2011 I completed the full ten year registration that the law required of me, despite an Indiana Supreme court ex post facto ruling in 2009 in my favor (which I was not aware until after my registration requirement had expired). As of recently, my information has been removed from the state registry portal. This is the "good" news.

With that being said, I thought that my life would get a little better. Who wouldn't! I had survived the registry... or did I?

To my horror, after ten years of public humiliation and scorn, what do I find just months after I had been removed from the official law enforcement web portal? When performing a Google search on my name and town, the NUMBER ONE result is a site listing me as an offender! This website had never been there before. It did not appear until AFTER my registration requirement had ENDED!

About the vigilante website: It is called [offendex.com]. It is registered by proxy via Internet Solutions. It is on Amazon servers. The offender information is copied from the state websites. It copied the entire registry, perhaps for all states. The info is not hidden in a database. It is OPTIMIZED for SEO.

The website went live months after I had been removed from the state registry, circa 02/2012. At first it was littered with law enforcement badge/links. It had other links for 'pay to be removed', similar to a mugshot-racket schemes. They demanded a HUNDRED dollars just to REQUEST removal! And with no guarantee of being removed, either!

Now the site has been redesigned without the law badge/links (at least on the page with my info), and it does not 'explicitly' demand money. However there is still a PayPal link there for paying to get the pages removed. (The blackmail remains! The extortion continues!) Furthermore, the site claims that it has no obligation to remove the pages even if you pay them. And they footnote that they have the 'right' to 'republish' the information under state and federal FOIA claims. (The meta description in my Google search result also claims FOIA privilege.)

All of this is very disturbing. After years of chronic unemployment due the state registry, now I am prima facie as bad as before in regards to employment opportunity. This site is acting as a criminal history provider, using SEO to keep me anchored at the top of Google. How am I suppose to put out resumes and applications? An employer is more likely to look someone up on Google than to perform a background check!

And I am not alone. This site is acting under the color of a "legitimate" registry for ALL states in the USA! This means it could happen to anyone else, and is happening! How much data they have stolen from the 'real' state registries under the color of the FOIA, I am not sure.

What I do know is that this should be illegal! No private citizen or company should be allowed to use this information for personal financial gain or harassment of ex-offenders. This is another example of why only law enforcement should be privy to any of this information. There needs to be laws stopping this practice! It seems questionable to me how the FOIA even applies to it. The site needs shut down!

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Law Note:

Indiana has passed a new law concerning criminal history providers. It is HB 1033 -- Criminal history and sentencing. It has been enacted into law, but it does not go into effect until July, 2013.

It has penalties for criminal history providers who do not update their info. It also makes such behavior actionable. It specifically mentions the sex offender registry, so perhaps this is a start....

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I am a regular reader of your blog. It is an amazing wealth of information. I admire your courage and dedication. I send this message to you for awareness. Thank you for all your efforts to inform people of the injustice going on in our country! You deserve a medal of courage and admiration!

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