[UPDATE] Ocean Marketing Attempts To Extort Former Client

[Starke]

If they exist at all. There's apparently a pretty decent argument being made that the wife and child don't actually exist, and never did in any way shape or form until after this mess started.

There's evidence that he has a female partner - but it's a different family name. More than that, I wouldn't like to say.

Well, at least we know he's only a cheating sleeze at this point, instead of a... whatever the hell the term is for randomly inventing someone to garner sympathy...

I get the feeling that you haven't read the appropriate articles, because he has gone above and beyond being a "Jerk, a loudmouth, a thug" at this point.

Has he?

I hope you're not referring the extortion thing, because the only place the word "extortion" was used was in the title of this news article. What I see over at Reddit is an acrimonious business dispute being dragged out into the public eye.

The Escapist forums are not a court of law.
Reddit is not a court of law.
The Internet is not a court of law.

It goes past a business dispute. He is holding their accounts hostage. That is theft. He is refusing to return them unless his conditions are met. That is extortion. It's pretty cut-and-dried.

The theft charge could be tricky, given the way ownership on the internet works. The extortion one? That's much easier to make.

EDIT: The extortion charge would be pretty cut and dried. He contacts a business, demands money from them or he'll damage their reputation, or, whatever. That's extortion.

 

[omicron1]

This guy is either the biggest troll this side of Troll Hunter, or he's that bully from high school with an IQ of 73, somehow instated in a serious job and demonstrating exactly why he never should have left third grade.

It's like watching a bad comedy movie, only the star is playing as himself and the hapless schmucks are actual people.

 

[lacktheknack]

... -The amount of ellipses in here was too damn high! Removed by Mod.

Is that enough ellipses?

I sat here for about ten minutes trying to comprehend what I just read. I still can't. ;_;

CAN'T SOMEONE EXPLAIN THE WORLD TO ME? PLEASE? IT MAKES NO SENSE.

 

[Nergy]

I get the feeling that you haven't read the appropriate articles, because he has gone above and beyond being a "Jerk, a loudmouth, a thug" at this point.

Has he?

I hope you're not referring the extortion thing, because the only place the word "extortion" was used was in the title of this news article. What I see over at Reddit is an acrimonious business dispute being dragged out into the public eye.

The Escapist forums are not a court of law.
Reddit is not a court of law.
The Internet is not a court of law.

Actually yes, what he was doing was extortion, The current PR guy for N-Control explained to Paul what would happen if he continued to hold onto their accounts (ie "You'll be convicted for extortion") and Paul become a bit more co-operative.

I am aware the internet isn't a court of law, nobody is acting like it is. We are simply versed in the law and know when someone is breaking it. If there was a video of a guy shooting someone, i think the average joe on the internet can label that person a criminal. We wouldn't sit back and say "Well, i can't say he's guilty, i'm not a lawyer".

 

[Starke]

I sat here for about ten minutes trying to comprehend what I just read. I still can't. ;_;

CAN'T SOMEONE EXPLAIN THE WORLD TO ME? PLEASE? IT MAKES NO SENSE.

If I thought I wouldn't get dinged for insufficient content, I'd just post "drink moar absinthe."

But, no, it's simple, this guy is a bully. And, like all bullies, when the threat of his good times rolling to an end came up, he freaked out, and tried to figure out who he could lean on to keep it going.

The biggest mistake here is to look at his behavior from the standpoint of a rational, sane, well adjusted human being, that's where you'll end up with broken headmeats.

We are simply versed in the law and know when someone is breaking it.

Some of us, anyway. The people who keep insisting "piracy isn't legally theft" still break my brain in painful ways. And there is always that huge cadre of people out there who watched about twenty too many episodes of Law & Order SUV or CSI and think that's how the law works...

 

[Sixcess]

I am aware the internet isn't a court of law, nobody is acting like it is. We are simply versed in the law and know when someone is breaking it.

If he is breaking the law why hasn't he been arrested? With the public spotlight so fully on him I'm fairly sure we'd hear about it if he had been.

The new PR guy is doing his job, which is damage control, and doing it very well, by taking it to the internet while the story is hot. If this was 'cut and dried' extortion then he, or his client, should be going to the police, not to Reddit.

If there was a video of a guy shooting someone, i think the average joe on the internet can label that person a criminal. We wouldn't sit back and say "Well, i can't say he's guilty, i'm not a lawyer".

I must have missed the update with the video of Christoforo carrying out his "extortion." Got a link?

I rather doubt a thread on Reddit would be accepted as evidence in court.

He doesn't deserve "innocent until proven guilty" schtick.

This is exactly the kind of trial by internet lynch mob mentality that I find so disquieting. By no stretch of the imagination has this guy done anything that would justify denying him basic legal rights.

 

[Grunt_Man11]

I've had companions in Skyrim repeatedly spring the same trap over and over again.

I've had marines in Halo blows themselves up with their own grenades, and high center a warthog ten seconds after getting in the driver's seat.

I've had enemies in Just Cause 2 jump out of a helicopter without parachutes.

And yet, they are all still smarter than this moron.

 

[Tselis]

I am aware the internet isn't a court of law, nobody is acting like it is. We are simply versed in the law and know when someone is breaking it.

If he is breaking the law why hasn't he been arrested? With the public spotlight so fully on him I'm fairly sure we'd hear about it if he had been.

The new PR guy is doing his job, which is damage control, and doing it very well, by taking it to the internet while the story is hot. If this was 'cut and dried' extortion then he, or his client, should be going to the police, not to Reddit.

Well, actually ...
The new PR guy is trying to save the company some money by not filing charges. Now, let me explain why. If this douche claims ownership of the digital property in question, and demands money for their return then the company has 2 options. They are taking the what we'll call option 1. Option 2 is to file charges. The police will investigate, and eventually arrest him, putting him into the court system for potentially years. The police however do not handle business disputes, those remain in the civil courts. You have to hire attorneys to deal with the civil courts, and those cost money. While he is working his way through the criminal courts (for potentially years) he could hold these digital properties hostage, forcing NControl to retain the services of (probably) several attorneys, for the cost of (probably) several million dollars. A shortage of cash was listed as a reason for hiring this douche in the first place. Soooo, this brings me back around to my first point, the new PR guy is just doing the intelligent thing for his clients.

EDIT: People seem to think that the police have more power than they do.

 

[Avatar Roku]

This is exactly the kind of trial by internet lynch mob mentality that I find so disquieting. By no stretch of the imagination has this guy done anything that would justify denying him basic legal rights.

This part, I agree with. The accused should ALWAYS be considered innocent until proven guilty. As for the rest of your post, I quote this guy, because he was 100% right:

I am aware the internet isn't a court of law, nobody is acting like it is. We are simply versed in the law and know when someone is breaking it.

If he is breaking the law why hasn't he been arrested? With the public spotlight so fully on him I'm fairly sure we'd hear about it if he had been.

The new PR guy is doing his job, which is damage control, and doing it very well, by taking it to the internet while the story is hot. If this was 'cut and dried' extortion then he, or his client, should be going to the police, not to Reddit.

Well, actually ...
The new PR guy is trying to save the company some money by not filing charges. Now, let me explain why. If this douche claims ownership of the digital property in question, and demands money for their return then the company has 2 options. They are taking the what we'll call option 1. Option 2 is to file charges. The police will investigate, and eventually arrest him, putting him into the court system for potentially years. The police however do not handle business disputes, those remain in the civil courts. You have to hire attorneys to deal with the civil courts, and those cost money. While he is working his way through the criminal courts (for potentially years) he could hold these digital properties hostage, forcing NControl to retain the services of (probably) several attorneys, for the cost of (probably) several million dollars. A shortage of cash was listed as a reason for hiring this douche in the first place. Soooo, this brings me back around to my first point, the new PR guy is just doing the intelligent thing for his clients.

EDIT: People seem to think that the police have more power than they do.

 

[Freyar]

Threats against his family (if he has one), sure.. against his rights, but what about the rest? Is that really the only point or are people complaining about the fact that he was found to be using steroids and has a case of domestic abuse?

I mean.. as far as I can tell this was all public knowledge anyway.

 

[Torrasque]

Oh man, this shit is better than a movie!
Looks like I have my entertainment all set up for the night
Just need to make some popcorn and watch the flaming poo fly around.

 

[SnakeoilSage]

Guys like him are a rare treat. I really am enjoying this.

 

[Braedan]

I just want to thank Paul with all of my heart for giving me so many amusing and interesting news posts to read across so many websites.

 

[Sylveria]

I am aware the internet isn't a court of law, nobody is acting like it is. We are simply versed in the law and know when someone is breaking it.

If he is breaking the law why hasn't he been arrested? With the public spotlight so fully on him I'm fairly sure we'd hear about it if he had been.

Cause that's how the police work, right? No need for investigation, lawyers to get involved, nope. Their omniscient and all encompassing power to point and say "crime!" is immediate and the instant the finger is first pointed, by anyone, an arrest is made.

Just as a point of comparison, recently in my town a man was accused of embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from the business he managed over the course of nearly a year. The accountant brought up issues about missing money for months, bills were not being paid, the crime was in progress for months and when the crime finally "came to light" to a larger group, it was a full two weeks for the initial investigation to occur and an arrest to be made when it was "cut and dry".

I'm sure you've watched every episode of Law and Order a few times and have a keen and realistic grasp of how police work occurs and the legal system functions, but maybe there's some small holes in your knowledge base, just maybe.

 

[008Zulu_v1legacy]

I'm sure you've watched every episode of Law and Order a few times and have a keen and realistic grasp of how police work occurs and the legal system functions, but maybe there's some small holes in your knowledge base, just maybe.

It's easy to spot the criminal is those series, its usually someone famous. All the famous people are criminals.

I reckon this turnaround is just because he is coming down off his Juice. Give it a day or two and he will be Mad-Hatter strength crazy again. No doubt he will become very popular with law enforcement at some time, but until then I look forward to his continued and hilarious meltdowns.

 

[A-D.]

There are honestly no words to accurately describe how entirely stupid this man is. I mean you can see certain shades that he is not entirely a ass to everyone. A Job can be stressful, especially one in that field, although granted, if you cant take it, you might want to work in a different field altogether.

But at this Point its more like he is doing all that crap just because he can, its like he's trying to get into the Guinness Book about worst customer service or something.

 

[Tselis]

I'm sure you've watched every episode of Law and Order a few times and have a keen and realistic grasp of how police work occurs and the legal system functions, but maybe there's some small holes in your knowledge base, just maybe.

?The president is the benefactor of a lot of information that came from waterboarding,? West said on Fox News. ?When you look at the precedent, non-state, non-uniform belligerents captured on the battlefield under the Geneva Convention are not afforded the same type of rights. We can make that determination. As the president, you need to do those things which are necessary to make sure that the American people are kept safe,? the Republican congressman continued, adding, ?and furthermore, in the movie ?G.I. Jane,? Demi Moore was waterboarded.? - Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.)

TV and movies must be right, our politicians are quoting them, so they must be. Right?

 

[Sperium 3000]

Seriously, what's this guy's problem!? Is he trying really hard to fill the void left by Jack Thompson as the Gaming Industry's new Super Villain? Then again, Thompson was -sort of- a threat, this guy is just a massive douchebag.

 

[Jonluw]

Well, at least this will provide a decent opportunity to just end this bullshit already.

 

[Awexsome]

I think he went blind with imaginary power he thought he had. Like a supervillain complex or something.