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| In 1975, Cohen was convicted of ] and ].<ref name="bicknell">{{cite web|author=Craig Bicknell |url=http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/1999/04/19140 |title=The Sordid Saga of Sex.com |publisher=Wired.com |date= |accessdate=2012-07-11}}</ref> In the 1980s, he operated a paid-membership ] (BBS) called the French Connection, geared toward ] and other sexual topics,<ref name="mccarthy" /><ref name="bicknell" /> and by the late 1980s, he organized swinger get-togethers at a home in ]. In 1990, he was arrested for operating a sex club in a residential zone. He relocated the enterprise and charges were dropped.<ref name="bicknell" /> | In 1975, Cohen was convicted of ] and ].<ref name="bicknell">{{cite web|author=Craig Bicknell |url=http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/1999/04/19140 |title=The Sordid Saga of Sex.com |publisher=Wired.com |date= |accessdate=2012-07-11}}</ref> In the 1980s, he operated a paid-membership ] (BBS) called the French Connection, geared toward ] and other sexual topics,<ref name="mccarthy" /><ref name="bicknell" /> and by the late 1980s, he organized swinger get-togethers at a home in ]. In 1990, he was arrested for operating a sex club in a residential zone. He relocated the enterprise and charges were dropped.<ref name="bicknell" /> | ||
| In 1991, he was convicted in a ] ] scheme in which he forged documents and assumed other identities. He was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison, and was released on February 1, 1995.<ref name="bicknell" / |
In 1991, he was convicted in a ] ] scheme in which he forged documents and assumed other identities. He was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison, and was released on February 1, 1995.<ref name="bicknell" /> | ||
| == Sex.com == | == Sex.com == | ||
Revision as of 19:36, 11 July 2012
 | This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (August 2011) |
Stephen Michael Cohen is an American criminal who gained notoriety after fraudulently acquiring control of the domain name Sex.com in 1995. He was later implicated in involvement in running the controversial peer-to-peer service EarthStation 5.
Cohen was born in Los Angeles and attended Van Nuys High School in the Van Nuys area of Los Angeles.
In 1975, Cohen was convicted of grand theft and check-kiting. In the 1980s, he operated a paid-membership bulletin board system (BBS) called the French Connection, geared toward swinging and other sexual topics, and by the late 1980s, he organized swinger get-togethers at a home in Orange County, California. In 1990, he was arrested for operating a sex club in a residential zone. He relocated the enterprise and charges were dropped.
In 1991, he was convicted in a bankruptcy fraud scheme in which he forged documents and assumed other identities. He was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison, and was released on February 1, 1995.
Sex.com
According to court documents, Cohen fraudulently obtained the lucrative Internet domain name Sex.com in May 1995 from the original registrant, Gary Kremen, who had registered it in May 1994. Cohen obtained the domain by means of a forged letter to domain registrar Network Solutions, faxed from Kremen's company "Online Classified", fraudulently stating that Kremen had been dismissed and the firm was abandoning the domain and that Cohen could have it. Network Solutions blindly accepted the fax with no verification and transferred the domain to Cohen, an action that would prove grounds for a later civil suit by Kremen against Network Solutions. It is estimated that Cohen illegally earned US$100 million between October 1995 and November 2000 from his ownership of sex.com.
In April 2001, the court ordered damages of $65 million be paid to Kremen. Cohen then fled to Tijuana, Mexico where he was arrested on October 28, 2005. As of 2005 the amount of damages owed to Kremen had increased to $82 million with interest.
Cohen was released from custody on December 5, 2006, by Judge Ware because Kremen's lawyers had been unable to uncover Cohen's offshore bank accounts.
References
- ^ Violet Blue, Special to SF Gate (2006-12-21). "Sex.com: A URL - All Crime And No Sex". SFGate. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
- ^ Jenny Booth and Roland Watson Updated 46 minutes ago (2012-03-13). "The Times | UK News, World News and Opinion". Entertainment.timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Craig Bicknell. "The Sordid Saga of Sex.com". Wired.com. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
- Kremen v. Network Solutions, Inc. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. James Ware, District Judge, Presiding. Argued August 13, 2002. Submitted July 25, 2003—San Francisco, California. Filed July 25, 2003. Before: Alex Kozinski and M. Margaret McKeown, Circuit Judges, and James M. Fitzgerald, District Judge. Opinion by Judge Kozinski.
- ^ "Sex.com thief faces justice after hiding out in Mexico for four years". News.findlaw.com. 2005-11-04. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
- "Sex.com thief released from prison". The Register. 2006-12-09. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
External links
- (BIC) Bicknell, Craig. April 15, 1999, 3:00 AM. "The Sordid Saga of Sex.com". Wired. /Tech Biz/Media. .
- (BOY) Boyle, Matthew. December 8, 2005, 4:33 PM EST. "Sex.com, drugs and a rocky road: Tracking down the millions owed after the theft of a tangled web domain". CNNMoney.com. /Fortune/News/Technology. .
- (DIN) Dineen, J. K. Updated Nov. 4, 2005, 1:10 p.m. ET. "Sex.com thief faces justice after hiding out in Mexico for four years". Court TV News. .
- (GLA) Glasner, Joanna. August 14, 2002, 2:00 AM. "Sex.com Takes Aim at Registrar". Wired. /Tech Biz/Media. .
- (SWA) Swartz, Jon. Posted March 31, 2005, 8:33 PM. Updated 1 April 2005, 8:21 AM. "Appeals court upholds Sex.com ruling". USA Today. /Money. .
- (VIO) Violet Blue. December 21, 2006. "Sex.com: A URL -- All Crime And No Sex". SFGate.com. /Open Source (Column). .