Nelson Brady (Halvarez) is a Jerk, Probably NOT a Criminal
About every other article in my news feed right now has something to do with the allegations against Nelson Brady (also known as Halvarez). After reading plenty of articles about him, I think about him in complete and utter disgust. It’s as if he’s the Bernie Madoff of the domaining industry. Now, Bernie Madoff got a 150 year sentance. But as far as any legal actions against Brady go, I do not believe there is any criminal lawsuit that could be brought against him.
Snapnames does have a compnay policy about employees not bidding on auctions. In this case, Brady was the employee that was bidding on names with the intent of raising the auction selling price.
Because Snapnames is giving back money to all of the people who were involved in auctions in which Brady was bidding in, there are no damages to those users.
So what are the damages exactly? How can Brady be criminally prosecuted, unless Snapnames encountered any damages? How can they prove that Brady was bidding for the purpose of rasing the auction price, rather than bidding out of interest for a lot of names that he lost? These questions are all going unanswered, and until we know the answer to them, we cannot assume or even Brady will be criminally prosecuted rather than just fired. Submit your comments below!
How is he not a criminal if he engaged in criminal activity? The rebates that Oversee issues is a way to minimize the amount of potential lawsuits that would arise. Their first measure – to fire Nelson Brady – is an administrative one. It’s almost certain that they will be filing criminal charges against him, since he cost the company so much money. And remember, they have all the evidence needed.
Let’s say I defraud you of a large sum of money. Later, I get caught and pay you back with interest. So I could say “what are the damages?”
Guess what? The State’s Attorney/DA/whoever it is in your state is going to prosecute me anyway and I could easily end up in prison.
What did Nelson Brady do with the domains he illegally won? Did he resell them and make a profit from them? What about the lost revenues from the domains that the honest bidder missed out on because the domain was illegally acquired? Major revenue, business potential lost because of an inside bidder stealing domains. On another note, what about all of the parking companies that are miscalculating traffic and paying little or no revenues for the traffic they do report? These smoke and mirror games being played in our industry need to be exposed. There should be a “Domainer Hotline Website” so employees can anonymously report this nonsense and upload supporting documentation. Just a thought.
Peace.
@Acro – All the company has said is that they fired him for violating company policy and bidding on a lot of auctions. And if they’re seeking the money from the money he cost the company for his breaking company policy, they would file a civil lawsuit.
@Steve – You need to keep in mind that there has been nothing published yet showing that the domains he purchased weren’t actual investments that he later intended to profit off of? As I talked about, there are so many questions that have gone unanswered, we can’t just jump to the conclusion he defrauded anyone or that he will be criminally prosecuted.
@Losttheauction – Thanks for your comment! I definitely second that idea for an anonymous domainer hotline. I wouldn’t be surprised if one came about due to this situation.
He caused some people not to get domain names because the price was too high. So for the domains he did win, the people who got outbidded suffered loss.
Also, he is a criminal because he committed a crime, (broke the law.) First off, he could have defrauded investors in the company. If they see more domains are being sold for higher prices, the investors are being lied to, and defrauded.
Most importantly, this is a crime. See this previous case: http://www.oag.state.ny.us/media_center/2009/july/july14b_09.html
The website posted fake reviews of their site, and got sued. “This company’s attempt to generate business by duping consumers was cynical, manipulative, and illegal,” said Attorney General Cuomo. “My office has and will continue to be on the forefront in protecting consumers against emerging fraud and deception, including ‘astroturfing,’ on the Internet.”
This may have been a civil case however. It is unclear. The fact of the matter is, it’s illegal.
Great post though!
Whether a crime has been committed isn’t simply about damges, otherwise you could try and break into someone’s house and get off with nothing if you didn’t actually steal anyting. Personally I think we will see criminal charges brought (and a civil claim). He did actually gain alot from it though (Brady) in term of the price he sold snapnames for and possibly any income/dividends he received from profits at that time, he wasn’t doing it for fun.
@Snoopy – What crime has he broken by being a person and simply bidding on a lot of domain names? There is no federal law against bidding on a lot of domains or breaking company policy. So he can’t possibly be charged criminally (at least not until more details in this case come out).
Still something that I don’t feel has been addressed by most domaining blogs is this: Halvarez must have been working for the company. He has nothing to gain from upping the prices of the domains. It must have been an inside job.