“Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are”
Old English proverb

In order to increase leverage of his ransom demands and hence increase the settlement rate, Mr. Sperlein filed three show cases against individuals:

• IO Group, Inc. v. Anthony Uy – California
• Io Group, Inc. v. Almeida – Florida
• IO GROUP, INC. v. SOMOZA – New Jersey

Since Mr. Sperlein does not have licenses to troll in Florida and New Jersey, he delegated his trolling responsibilities to those who can legally troll there.

In Florida he chose an experienced troll Mark Randazza. (Remember the Unicorn & Leprechaun story?)

In New Jersey the choice was even more radical: a law firm Verdiramo & Verdiramo, a family business. Quick Google search revealed that two of Verdiramo family members, including the founding father of the law firm, Vincent L. Verdiramo, are currently being sued by SEC for alleged security fraud (United States Securities and Exchange Commission v. Verdiramo et al, NYSD 10-cv-01888).

I refrain from further comments in fear of being sued for defamation, but I’m sure you will be able to construct a nice conclusion in your minds.

Update

8/6/2015

On 4/29/2013, a final judgment in the amount of $759,444 was entered against the defendants. See the SEC press release.