Prenda
ARDC suddenly remembers that there is “D” in its acronym, starts disciplinary proceeds against John Steele
Finally…
Today Jerome Larkin, Administrator of the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois, via Counsel Wendy J. Muchman and Marita C. Sullivan, filed a seven-count, 14,000-word complaint against Prenda’s John Steele alleging massive professional misconduct and fraud on the Court (the word “fraud” is used 17 times throughout the document).
I don’t want to go over the complaint — in part because there is nothing new and revealing to anyone who follows the Prenda saga, and also because the tech media will certainly report about this development soon.
What I want to stress is that Malibu Media/X-Art and other copyright trolls who continue abusing the law and plunder US citizens are not that much better than Prenda. Yes, they do not defraud the courts as brazenly as Steele and Hansmeier did (although some scams as Crystal Bay Corporation or Good Man Productions certainly deserve attention from both professional disciplinary bodies and the DOJ). However, the common denominator of their harmful activities is immediately obvious to anyone with IQ greater than 70.
I hope to live long enough to witness similar disciplinary actions against Keith Lipscomb, Michael Hierl, Ira Siegel, and other parasites.
@fightcopytrolls
sanctions – 24
improper – 14
frivolous – 13
misrepresentation – 9
misconduct – 9
false – 9
contempt – 8
— Theodora Michaels (@tmichaels1) August 22, 2015
Coverage
- XBiz: Ill. Attorney Discipline Board Charges Prenda Attorney
- Madison County Record: ARDC: Chicago lawyer made millions in ‘shakedown’ scheme
- Techdirt: Illinois Attorney Discipline Board Finally Moves Against Prenda Mastermind John Steele
- Ars Technica: At long last, Prenda mastermind hit with state bar complaint
- Daily Dot: Attorney behind Prenda copyright trolling scheme might finally be disbarred
- Chicago Tribune: Lawyer cited for threatening to sue thousands for downloading porn
- CBS Chicago: Panel Could Pull License Of Lawyer Accused Of Shakedowns
- ABA Journal: Ethics case alleges ‘settlement shakedown’ by lawyer whose Prenda firm sued porn downloaders
Updates
11/16/2015
On 10/30/2015 John Steele filed his Answer to the complaint:
11/2/2015
Today Dan Browning wrote a story for the Star Tribune, bringing another great news — this time about the second half of Prenda, Paul Hansmeier, who, after his and Steele’s fraudulent porn Bittorent extortion “business” failed miserably, had been terrorizing Minnesota businesses with shakedown ADA lawsuits for more than a year:
The state board that investigates ethics complaints against Minnesota lawyers filed a petition Monday seeking to suspend or disbar Minneapolis lawyer Paul Hansmeier, who built a career suing thousands of people nationwide for downloading Internet porn, then turned to filing what some call “nuisance lawsuits” against small businesses that allegedly fail to comply with disability access laws.
The 43-page petition by the Minnesota Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board follows a move by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court trustee to liquidate Hansmeier’s assets forcibly, arguing that he sought court protection from creditors in “bad faith.”
3/9/2017
On 1/31/2017, ARDC filed an amended complaint against John Steele, slightly enhanced and refined. Surprisingly, the complaint does not mention the criminal indictment.
Fight © Trolls 
Well, well well. And it is happening in my lifetime. I must admit, I had my doubts that we’d ever see the wheels of justice turning.
And so it begins. Thank You, Dear Lord.
You know what? My previous post doesn’t go far enough.
Thank You to SJD and DTD for your thorough reporting on this issue. You’ve both proven, time and time again, to be invaluable.
Hat Tip, twice.
Now if only the MN LPRB will follow suit with his former partner… .
My lawyer says the action against Steele may very well end up with disbarment. He also says the fact that nothing’s been filed against Hans yet doesn’t mean a complaint against him isn’t also coming. He told me to be patient.
The Steele complaint is highly detailed. It gives the impression they had been accumulating dates and facts for a very long time. Duffy only passed away recently, and the insertion in the complaint referencing the death was brief, yet it was an indicator that this was a case they were building for quite a while.
Separately, Hans has caught the eye of the media, and not in a good way. With his ADA nonsense, he’s been decimating Mom ‘n Pop businesses that took years and even decades to build. Some of the business owners are in their 50’s, 60’s and even in their 70’s. They most likely have no other way to support themselves. But in his mind, they’re sitting ducks and easy prey.
I’ve never been sued under the ADA, but having previously owned and operated a small business myself, I can only imagine the living hell he is putting those people through. Maybe their day of justice is coming, too. One can only hope so. Hans seems to love targeting senior citizens.
After all, they’re the ones with the money, right?
About got danged time! Lord, no matter what picture I’ve seen of Steele he just looks like a crook. Maybe he’ll get disbarred and that will put a stop to his ADA lawsuits. MN papers have been writing about Hansmeier and his ADA suits too. He’s just as slimy. I know it’s in poor taste, but I can’t help wishing they would suffer the same fate as Duffy. Neither of them contribute ANYTHING positive to society.
Dear Pirate Slayer, Mr. Steele:
I hope this letter finds you well. I’m assuming you still follow this site’s developments from behind your proxied computer screen. I have a simple message to pass on – a place is being reserved for you by a Mr. Duffy.
Thank you for your kind attention.
Extinction may be at hand. I imagine ARDC realized what a fucking embarassment it was to have Mr. Duffy depart this Earth in good standing.
Yesterday I tweeted the number of certain words’ appearances in the complaint:
“fraud” – 17
“shakedown” – 13
“dishonesty” – 11
“fictional” – 9
“deceit” – 6
Received a follow-up reply this morning:
sanctions – 24
improper – 14
frivolous – 13
misrepresentation – 9
misconduct – 9
false – 9
contempt – 8
Hansmeier – 26
Professional Conduct – 25
Disobey – 4
Cooper – 48
Forgery – 1
Shakedown – 13 (already counted but worth repeating)
Settlement Demand – 4
Your Goose is Cooked – 14,000
Just noticed that this is an AMENDED COMPLAINT. When was the ORIGINAL complaint filed? Does anyone know? Why was it amended?
I was also wondering. It’s unlikely we would miss it if it was public though. I first became aware of an IARDC investigation in fall of 2013, yet never learned any detail.
Steele deserves to lose his law license and all of the money is made from shaking people down. I suspect that the vast majority of people only settled because they were afraid of being publicly named in a lawsuit as having downloaded porn, not based on the merits of any of his cases.
Steele ought to be sent to prison where he can film his own porno with his cellmate!
While it was a long time coming, the filing was well-written and very thorough. My only objection is that it did not end with “Govern yourself accordingly”.
Yes, but finally and at long last, they are being welcomed into the Big Leagues.
So John Steele is going to get the D?
I would dearly love to see another live performance from my favorite Jester, but that probably won’t be practical. Is it too much to hope the disciplinary hearings are recorded? Can we expect a transcript?
FYI – Mary Robinson of the Robinson Law Group is the former administrator of the IL ARDC.”
( one of John’s attorney’s)
http://robinsonlawillinois.com/mary-robinson-2/
Note the article she wrote = “A Lawyer’s Duty To Report Another Lawyer’s Misconduct: The Illinois Experience,” The Professional Lawyer, 2007 Symposium Issue, p. 47 (ABA Center for Professional Responsibility 2007
Thanks for grabbing and posting the second amended compliant. I didn’t know how to do it other then by email so you could post. Figured you grabbing it was easier. As for the criminal compliant not being mentioned. Steele hadn’t plead to it yet, not sure if the Jan 31 filing period even fell within the time frame he stated he wanted to change his plea in criminal proceedings, so likely why not included. That plea is why I said Illinois had plenty to act on to disbar STEELE now.
Cricket
Hello mate great bllog