Domain Thief Arrested & Charged By Police

August 4, No Comments

Detectives from the New Jersey State Police Cyber Crimes Unit have charged Daniel Goncalves, aged 25, of Union Township, with:

1. Theft by unlawful taking or disposition
2. Theft of identity
3. Computer theft

The charges relate to the theft of the domain name P2P.com from their GoDaddy account in May of 2006.

After moving the domain name, the investigation found Goncalves again waited the mandatory 60 days and listed the name for sale on e-Bay in September of 2006, where it was purchased for just over $111,000. The purchaser, was professional basketball player Mark Madsen, a Los Angeles Clippers forward who did not know the name was stolen.

Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police stated:

“The domain name industry is in some respects still like the wild west. Many of the rules are not yet codified into state laws, let alone federal or international laws”

“There is no deed for ownership of a domain name.  In most cases they are protected solely by a login and password for the site through which they are registered. Nevertheless, theft is theft, and that law that can be applied whenever possession of an own-able thing is improperly transferred for gain.”

Source: New Jersey State Police Cyber Crimes Unit.