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Feds Charge Two 'Copyright Trolls' With Fraud
- Arstechnica, Friday, December 16, 2016 4:49 PM
Federal authorities in Minnesota have arrested two well-known "copyright trolls" for allegedly running a "multimillion-dollar extortion scheme," Ars Technica reports. The defendants, attorneys Paul Hansmeier and John L. Steele, sued hundreds of people for allegedly downloading porn films from file-sharing sites.
In many cases, the alleged infringers paid $4,000 to settle the matter. The two lawyers were charged with fraud, perjury, and money laundering.
"The conduct of these defendants was outrageous -- they used deceptive lawsuits and unsuspecting judges to extort millions from vulnerable defendants," US Attorney Andrew Luger said in a statement.
