Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA (1888PressRelease)
July 01, 2008 - PhishBucket is a consumer advocacy blog that tracks and investigates companies who send suspicious job offers. This consumer advocacy blog now finds itself being sued by a notorious former criminal, determined to keep PhishBucket from telling the truth. What started as a relatively innocuous blog posting has turned into a First Amendment battle that will end with all bloggers cringing in fear, or with their First Amendment rights intact.
Reporting on a Nevada Corporation, VeriResume, PhishBucket pointed out flaws in their job offers, and criticized how they appeared to do business. PhishBucket editor, Tabatha Marshall provided her research findings, suggesting that job seekers do their homework before giving away their personal information to this suspicious company. “VeriResume appeared to send emails in a manner that had all the hallmarks of a classic phishing scheme,” said Marshall.
Last October, someone using one of Difrawy’s many aliases emailed Marshall demanding that “incorrect” information about VeriResume be removed. However, he declined to identify what information was “incorrect.” The message was clear. Don’t talk about my company or I’ll sue you.
On November 1, 2007, PhishBucket’s editor Tabatha Marshall received two more “job offers” from companies related to VeriResume -- along with a defamation lawsuit filed in Florida.
The editor of PhishBucket denies the allegations in the suit. “These guys have attributed reader comments to me,” said Marshall. “Even if I had made these statements, I have a First Amendment right to share truthful information with the public. I may not be as big as Consumer Reports, but I try to serve the same function. As always, I encouraged my readers to do their own research and come to their own conclusions.” Marshall said that she would have taken ISC’s concerns to heart if they had been willing to specify what information was incorrect. Instead, they chose to file a lawsuit that Marshall describes as “frivolous.” Marshall appears to be the latest victim of a company that is seeking to silence its critics in a classic SLAPP suit.
Marshall says that once she got the lawsuit, she did some more investigation. It seems that ISC’s business practices are just the tip of the iceberg.
“I found out that Difrawy, in addition to spending time in jail on fraud charges, has been associated with convicted felon Lou Pearlman and has also been connected with other fraudulent career-oriented activities from talent scouting to job brokering,” said Marshall. "Defrawy was also ordered to pay a reported $2.3 million to victims of his activities in the past.” In addition, she noted that Difrawy was the subject of an investigation into fraudulent job postings by WFTV in Orlando, Florida.
The Suit against Marshall was dismissed since it was filed in Florida, whereas the law requires that it be filed in Washington. Instead of filing in the proper court, ISC and Difrawy appealed. First Amendment lawyers Marc Randazza and Gary Edinger agreed to handle the appeal for free.
“If ISC’s case had merit, they would have filed it in Washington instead of dragging [Ms. Marshall] through the courts here,” said Randazza. “This lawsuit does not appear to have any validity. It is for this reason that we agreed to defend Ms. Marshall’s First Amendment rights for free.”
Randazza said that he isn’t just taking the case out of altruism toward Marshall. “If ISC and Difrawy prevail in this appeal, it will mean that anyone who writes any consumer report will be forced to be dragged into courts thousands of miles from home,” he said. “This would not only be unprecedented, but it would mean the end of consumer journalism, travel journalism, and blogging as we know it.”
Visit PhishBucket.org for additional resources and links pertaining to this press release.
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