According to an ABC News report just out National A-1 Advertising Inc. and R.S. Duffy Inc. agreed to plead guilty to money launderin and will forfeit $4.9 million, pay a $1.5 million fine and serve 1 1/2 years of probation for its activities in operating Escorts.com.
National A-1 according to the story will also forfeit the domain name Escorts.com (although it would seem they have forfeited Escort.com as well)
The government said it reserves the right to prosecute individuals associated with the companies.
This is the outcome of the raid by federal and local police of the headquarters of National A-1 that we reported about just about a year ago.
Shortly after the raid we speculated that the raid was centered around the operation of Escorts.com.
Back In August of this year we noticed that National A-1 had taken down Escort.com and Escorts.com which they own.
It seems now the company has closure in this matter and we wish them the best.
“closure” and “wish them the best”?
They are scumbags who are guilty of money laundering and bad for our industry is the way I see it.
YUCK… the thought of a naked escort rubbing her body against me makes me wanna puke. finally the government is doing something worthwhile. really… you should ban me for life or i’ll just keep postin’ here… ’cause like i already tol’ you…
you’re the best blogger ever.
Wow. This is kind of shocking considering how hands off the DOJ has been with Craigslist. Will be interesting to see what this means for A1 and their insane portfolio of names.
I should say not hands off, but no one is carting Craig Newmark off to jail..
To: Tier 1 Development
or Anyone . . .
Show me their Portfolio / their sites /
and people behind the company (links??)
~Patricia Kaehler – Ohio USA – DomainBELL
Money laundering can save businesses and individuals a lot of money. It is hard to track too, that’s why it is usually used when the person is making money with illegal activities. If you don’t know what money laundering is, this article gives a great explanation.
http://explainlikeakid.blogspot.com/2011/09/explanation-on-money-laundering.html
Am I to assume that the government will now be in the escort business – adult or non-adult ?
They also have callgirls.com. I think escort.com and callgirls.com used to point to escorts.com.
@ Patricia
You can find examples of their portfolio here : http://catnip.com
Domains like : Teens.com, Girls.com, Boys.com, Babies.com, Free.com, Fun.com, …
t1d: if you read about craigslist, they say craig cooperates very well with authorities on the issue of prostitution. if anything he may be making their job easier.
@Patricia. You really aren’t familiar with National A1 and their portfolio? I’m not going to publish a list but it’s not that difficult to find out. They’ve got some of the best Tier 1 Domains in the business.
Here’s a few:
Diet.com
CatNip.com
Cash.com
Divorce.com
Pillows.com
Boys.com
Girls.com
Fun.com
@ HM, yeah I know. I’m not sure how much A1 resisted or if they did at all. Just seems like they’re really going all out against them. From what I’ve read about craigslist they were a large player in the escort space. Regardless if Craig cooperates or not, if his company still ends up facilitating illegal activity you would think he would still be held responsible. After all, it’s his list of escorts.
As Rick Schwartz predicted, The government is over extending it’s reach working toward authority to take away and domain and award it to someone else. In this case that would probably be Ford, since their Escort is the police car of just about any municipality and right now one of America’s largest exports. I could see a site like this:
http://www.alibaba.com/industry-promotion/ford-escort-industry-promotion.html
If the government kept it and use it, it would be an acronym for dumb program like TARP was- Emergency Signal Communications Operation Radio Transmission is one I came up with.
But Escort is also a class of warships and aircrafts: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Navy_escort_aircraft_carriers
However sex is only one of many definitions of the word. According to WikiPedia it is mainly a type of procession, an organized body of people advancing in a formal or ceremonial manner :
cavalcade, a procession on horseback, or a mass trail ride by a company of riders
motorcade, a procession of vehicles.
Police escort, a feature offered by law enforcement agencies to assist in transporting individuals.
Safety escort service, a service provided on and around many college and university campuses to help ensure the safety of students and staff.
An Escort vehicle, a vehicle that escorts oversize trucks or large vehicle convoys on highways.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escort
There are also private companies who are booming with business escorting and protecting public figures and celebrities.
Michael Moore for example has a team of 20 x-navy seals, 12 of which are protecting him at all times.
http://www.ases-llc.com/faq.htm
As for sex escorts you can find them openly advertising on Google, Craigs list and in hundreds of personal ad sections of printed media distributed to bars and clubs.
The most valuable asset in the seizure is the black book of clients that would embarrass many famous folks, if disclosed and end political ambitions for some. In an election year it can be used to squash opponents or blackmail to compel victims to vote as told to buy silence. The domain could also be used in a sting operation to set someone up for arrest and public humiliation. Just because the domain doesn’t resolve doesn’t mean the email is not active and full of requests.
Sequin is right. This is more publicity that is not helpful to investors. That’s why I commented that publicizing Frank Schilling’s XXX purchases on a site supported by National A-1 was not helpful. That’s why I blogged my thoughts about TRAFFIC that it may have been better to make the XXX launch an adjunct rather than the main event.
Government should get out of people’s bedrooms/motel rooms.
@Tier 1 Development
“Regardless if Craig cooperates or not, if his company still ends up facilitating illegal activity you would think he would still be held responsible”
Were you talking about Match.com, Facebook.com, eHarmony.com, Chemistry.com (and every other social networkling site) – or just escorts.com – there is nothing wrong with hooking up lonely folks with a zest for life based on demographics and social profiles – clearly A1 well exceeded the sunday nite family viewing hour – plus as rob sequin very importantly emphasises – issues apparantly go well beyond tax issues with their bookkeeping and accounting methods of operation – a pretty good indication of exceeding the bounds.
My CheapEscort(s).com will eventually be a dating site connecting folks with a similar interests and needs – but once my “yellow pages” services have been accomplished – whatever goes on – no differnet than craigslist, amtch and all the rest – is none of cheapescorts.com business.
@ Brian Wick. Not sure that I would want to take the risk of operating CheapEscorts.com.
There’s a big difference between the dating sites (Match etc) and a site that the sole purpose is to connect someone selling companionship. If you meet someone via Match at a restaurant money shouldn’t change hands and or you shouldn’t be assured that you’ll be having sex at with that person later. With Escorts.com, it’s clearly implied. Same will be said for your site, just at a discount.
I agree that this is overreaching, the government shouldn’t be concerned with this kind of stuff. It’s a waste of tax payer money. But the raid on A-1 and the deal they cut giving them the ability to prosecute the principals at both companies in the future, well it’s a clear indication that the DOJ isn’t messing around.
Don’t be surprised if the next move forces Google to prohibit escorts or their websites from paid or organic listings. And if I were operating any of the popular escort guides, I’d move out of US jurisdiction asap.
Defending this in court obviously isn’t a walk in the park. Because Craigslist is notorious for wanting to remain ungoverned and they caved. National A1 has got deep pockets to fight it out in court and they settled for what seems like a very bad deal. It’s probably a gift compared with what they were facing.
– issues apparantly go well beyond tax issues with their bookkeeping and accounting methods of operation –
Bingo. Their mistake which put them on the radar was buying hundreds of dropped 800 numbers that still had traffic from being on packaging, print materials, product instructions.. these names belonged to Fortune 100 corporations and were forwarded to a sex line that promoted escorts.com. I reckon an executive or board member who discovers that has a lot of influence on law enforcement. Especially of they saw it on a poster in their kid’s school cafeteria.
That is one Escort operation that ended up with No “Happy Ending” !
btw… Ford really did sell alotta Escorts.
If A1 did in fact use dropped 800 numbers that were associated with children’s products in promoting their phone sex hotlines and escort.com, well I really have no empathy for their organization.
I honestly don’t see how internally what their reasoning would be for that. There’s no way to quantify how that would actually benefit their bottom line one bit. Is there some kind of public record proving that what’s they were actually doing?
@Tier 1
“There’s a big difference between the dating sites (Match etc) and a site that the sole purpose is to connect someone selling companionship.”
Good God Almighty – What interplanetary reason is Match.com, eHarmony and Craig and the rest all about then ?
There are a lot of folks in this world in need of contact or non-contact “companionship” who need to chat, talk about politics, shed knowledge or whatever – and when that is done – and the door closes – what does that have to do with the website that got them together ?
@ Brian Wick. Man you are hysterical.
I’m sure that there’s a lot of escorts who are hired to sit around and chat. Or perhaps engage in a spirited debate on whether or not Mitt Romney is too serious to be considered for President.
Or maybe the equivalent of the ultimate “non contact companionship” escort orgy. Someone hires half a dozen for an hour once a week to have a book club. They just finished Kite Runner, it was beautiful.
Maybe they give out stock tips as well. They do seem to be popular with the wallstreet types. Oh wait, that’s probably it. The traders are just checking with the escorts to see if they agree with their projections in hotel rooms on their lunch break.
Bingo!
It’s their stupidity for engaging in money laundering, considering that their multi-million dollar domain portfolio is at rick too. Maybe they should of learnt something from the knobs running the same ‘bootleg’ cash funding scheme in the onlinepoker room neich. wishing then well indeed~ 😉
Shocking news. I didn’t know they are in adult business big time.
My office is running a special, “book-a-date-with-a-lawyer” special, only $29.99 for the first hour, plus you get a free set of steak knives. Judicial robes are extra.
@Tier 1 Development
So you are saying that the government is in the business of “naming” business entities and even though CheapEscorts and Match might offer the exact same goods and services, CheapEscorts would be shut down simply because of its busines name ?
Seems pretty boring almost as boring as hiding behind Teit 1 – usually folks who hide behind a name , have a lot to hide themselves.
Guys
I’m not going to be harshly crtical of National A1
Before escorts.com there was the village voice where such ads appeared when I was growing up in NY 20+ years ago.
The saga of Craigslist adult ad section is well known.
backpage.com anyone ever heard of that one?
Yellow pages?
Did you ever check out the yellow pages in Las Vegas 20+ pages of ads for escorts?
Also you should note that the 800# connection which many of you referred to does not seem to be in play as the “sister company” which owns all those numbers was not charged nor was a part of this plea agreement
@ Brian Wick. So CheapEscorts.com won’t connect those seeking companionship in exchange for cash with escorts? It’s going to be a dating site? If it’s a dating site it won’t be a very popular one. Because if you’re not connecting “John’s” with escorts there’s going to be a lot of disappointed people in for a surprise on both sides.
That would be like you buying DrugDealers.com from Frank and then trying to tell us it would be a site connecting consumers with actual pharmacists instead of the alternative. The semantics of your ridiculous statements aside, put your money where your mouth is. DrugDealers.us is available for reg fee. Let us all know when your social network for pharmacists launches.
And I’m not hiding, I’ve got nothing to hide. I’m just promoting my company by posting as either T1D or Tier 1 Development. My ego doesn’t require me to see my name everywhere.
@ MHB. There’s no doubt that the government is sending a statement by dropping the hammer an A1. My point was they give Craigslist and YP a pass as well as all of the printed publications. The 800 number thing was news to me.
I feel like there’s more to this story because the DOJ seems to have really gone all out on this case.
@Tier 1,
“I feel like there’s more to this story ” – exacty as a few of us has prior stated.
Let me use a few other examples to show where I am coming from with CheapEscorts.com (or Craigslist, match and all the rest):
My CheapDrugs.com / CheapMeds.com is not a doctor and is not a pharmacy – all Cheap Drugs does is connect potential consumers with a doctor network / pharmacy network. Whatever goes on afterward – if anything – is none of our business and is not even on our servers.
Same with CheapLawyers.com – we are not lawyers – we just connect potential clients with lawyers
Attorneys and escorts are entirely different professions. One is legal and one isn’t.
I’ll beat everyone else to the joke and say that they’re both known for screwing people for money.
But seriously escorts are not providing a service that is legal. Your argument is understood, but it’s semantics. It’s something that isn’t going to help you
(or prevent you from being prosecuted) if you find yourself in front of a judge. If you or your business, website etc is helping individuals engage in illegal activity you’re going to be facing some serious heat.
Again I get your point, but I’m not going to endorse anyone using a domain for anything that could very well land them in jail.
when you really think about it, this is nothing more than a slap on the wrist. no one is going to jail. and the fine is not large when you consider how massive a1’s portfolio is (adult, gambling and otherwise). they have other names with escort in them, targeted at localities. will those be seized? doubtful. a1 is a huge domainer with huge income.
do incidents like this may make owning a lot of domains look disreputable?
funneling traffic to adult sites might be easy money but it is going to carry a severe stigma. as it should. age controls on the web are pretty much nonexistant. are fines and maybe jail time unreasonable?
this is a little different than a nondescript one line entry in the yellow pages. or in the back of a magazine or newspaper.
more than a few domainers in the public eye have relied on gambling and adult names to be successful and maybe they have made life harder for domainers that keep their portfolios clean and do not target base instincts like gambling and sex.
just an observation.
“Government should get out of people’s bedrooms/motel rooms.”
@ LindaM
True, the government were probably the biggest customers of the Escorts 😉
@gazzip
Yes -rumor has it Eliot Spitzer is going to take over Escorts.com.
And when that happens my CheapPussy.com, CheapWhores.com, CheapStrippers.com, CheapDancers.com and CheapHookers.com will mirror it.
With the quality of portfolio National A-1 has in both domains and phone numbers, it’s amazing they’d ever get into the bad activities that they did.
Historically, government has cracked down illegal activities on the basis of income tax violations, like Al Capone’s illegal businesses during the prohibition era. Income tax evation is easy to prove, not the other.
@ LindaM, the charges and the plea center around MONEY LAUNDERING, not the illicit escort service, from what the article stated.
I hope every money-laundering operation in the US, which skirts the law via sham boards which channel profits to the Caymans’ to avoid taxes, gets crushed and stomped on likethe parasites they are! Gets exterminated. And I am gloating over the $6.4 million fee AND the year and a half of probation. Crooks. Seeing is believing. $6.4 million probably a drop in the bucket to that company, and it will have trouble explaining its lack of cash. It wouldn’t risk it. The government could hold an auction on its valuable domain names.
So illicit activity like escort services and porn is simply a candidate for further investigations, because those are the flag of money laundering.
P.S.
Last year DeutscheBank agreed to pay a $554 Million Tax Shelter Settlement to the Feds for creating foreign currency options that always resulted in gigantic paper deficits for the client . . . which left some of its 2100 US greedy customers exposed who paid good coin for the shelters. Microsoft paid only 7% in taxes this year, and Google paid only 18%, with all the major companies having offshore shelters. They want a 5% tax penalty amnesty to bring their billions back to the US. Shame on them!
HM
“”this is a little different than a nondescript one line entry in the yellow pages. or in the back of a magazine or newspaper.””
I have to admit its been may years since I looked at a Yellow Pages but back in the day, way before National A1 owned escorts, I can tell you in Vegas there were pages and pages of ads for escorts, display ads with pictures 1/4, 1/2 and full page ads.
I would guess they are still there today.
Not to mention all the handouts you get when you walk down the strip with girls and pics available for hire.
No fine print or “ondescript one line entry” big ads with pictures and full on in your face escorts
(pun intended)
ever hear of erosguide.com?
Because the point is: it’s not about the TYPE of business they were engaging, it’s because THEY WERE RIPPING OFF THE COUNTRY. And if Occupy Wall Street could articulate its agenda, it would be: If you live in a place and set up shop, pay the taxes of the place where you set up shop, instead of impersonate a business in the Caymans, or Nevada, or Wyoming, or Delaware.
That’s what the problem is. Two sets of rules: one for the regular hard-working schmuck who pays 39% taxes on his business or withholds from his paycheck; one for sophisticated businesses who exploit every loophole on the planet.
@Sameh and @TLD
Thanks for the info…
Kind of you both to respond…
~Patricia Kaehler – Ohio USA – DomainBELL
correction
not TLD
T1D
~P