'Halvarez' at Snapnames auctions uncovered

[prague7]

Ooer - this one's going to run for a while... :O

From DomainNameNews:
SnapNames User Name “Halvarez” Was Nelson Brady, VP of Engineering Bidding on Domain Names [Updated]

[Updated] According to a statement from Oversee.net’s SnapNames, an employee was found to have bid in 5% of their auctions since 2005 and in some cases arranged for a partial refund of the sales price after winning an auction. DNN also confirmed the bidder as Nelson Brady, the VP of Engineering. He was bidding under the username “halvarez”.

From Snapnames:
SnapNames User Name “Halvarez” Was Employee Bidding on Domain Names

To avoid any question about whether the company benefited from this conduct, SnapNames will offer a rebate to impacted customers, including 5.22% interest (the highest applicable federal rate during the affected time period), of the difference between the prices they paid in winning auctions, and the prices they would have paid had the employee not bid in the auctions. Impacted customers will be notified by SnapNames or its representative with instructions for the offer of a rebate.

SnapNames also has taken further action to ensure its policies regarding auctions are followed, and the company remains committed to taking whatever action is necessary to protect the integrity of its auction platform.

SnapNames deeply regrets this situation and is committed to addressing its customers’ needs quickly and fairly.

There's also a FAQ page at Snapnames

 

[Michelle]

Does anyone really believe that an employee was acting alone .

No :blink:

 

[deb]

Australia & Gazzip picked Halvarez from the Start!

Australia & Gazzip picked Halvarez from the Start!!

http://www.namepros.com/domain-name-discussion/163933-whats-good-tactics-beating-guy-snapnames.html

 

[daj]

Does he own Halvarez.com (developed site) /.net (dropping) both which are registered at moniker?

This is entertaining: http://domaingang.com/domain-news/b...halvarez-from-the-san-quentin-federal-prison/

 

[deb]

Nelson Brady's Response to Fraud Accusations

Nelson Brady, Have you anything to say in your Defence and What Does your Mother think?

Photos of Alleged SnapNames Shill Bidder Nelson Brady and Our Thoughts on a Scandal That is Rocking the Domain Industry

You Stole from and Defrauded the people that trusted you....

We welcome your comments as i am sure the whole story is YET to come out...

Be Brave Nelson!

 

[Jaco]

If that dweeb thought high school was rough, he ought to imagine what prison's going to be like.

Enjoy your time, Nellie...

 

[GF]

Dated 5-6-07:
"I've always beaten halvarez...Maybe he's a "rabbit" bidder for Snapnames." -Acroplex

Wow. Nailed it spot on!

 

[deb]

02-03-2006, 04:52 AM HALVAREZ???? arrghh he haunts my snapnames auctions. i cant work it out how he always seems to pick my obscure domain drops???? i want to find out who he is!! 50 np$ bounty if any one knows.

02-03-2006, 05:16 AM snapnames name - HALVAREZ! im sure its all legit. it just seems too close for comfort and to see the same happening to others i hope hes not a snapnames plant!!

02-03-2006, 04:15 PM halvarez is drum roll ...............

Hank Alvarez 2346 NW
Clarion Ste 303 New City, NY 10956. US +1 626 576 0292 [email protected]

took some sleuthing though. they are a pretty secretive bunch.

thanks mole for your efforts

50np$ to mole for providing the leads. and a few reps added

http://www.namepros.com/domain-name-discussion/163933-whats-good-tactics-beating-guy-snapnames.html

 

[BlackDiamond]

The magnitude of this event is outstanding to say the least.

I wonder, though, if the refunds will be limited to those who won or lost in auctions that this alternate account. What about, for instance, the domain names that were preordered by the fake account, thus netting an automatic $60 for a domain name that would otherwise have gone for far less? There are plenty of indirect ways that this account could run up the price tag on domain names.

 

[deb]

Fred Hsu

Scott H

Nelson Brady

We await your comments

 

[Peter]

And they need to tell us EXACTLY what date Halvarez was registered? and was that the only name he used to bid?

Not going to happen. I got the following email when contacting them yesterday regarding the matter:

Good Afternoon Peter,

I can not provide any details about the ongoing investigation. We are working through this tough situation.

We are reviewing internal systems with the assistance of outside experts to ensure effective internal controls and plan on making any changes necessary to prevent this from happening again.

Thank you,

 

[deb]

Not going to happen. I got the following email when contacting them yesterday regarding the matter:

I am sure that there will be More than One Client/Customer seeking Full Compensation and doing it successfully.

Sweet Dreams Hank!

 

[Peter]

I am sure that there will be More than One Client/Customer seeking Full Compensation and doing it successfully.

I am sure there will be but my post was more regarding the request for more information. Snap have refused on several fronts so far.

 

[deb]

I am sure there will be but my post was more regarding the request for more information. Snap have refused on several fronts so far.

"Snap have refused on several fronts so far"

Lawyers from all over the world will be contacting them tomorrow imo

 

[Peter]

"Snap have refused on several fronts so far"

Lawyers from all over the world will be contacting them tomorrow imo

I am not a lawyer but to be honest they are probably within their right to with hold a large amount of related information as they claim there are legal proceedings ongoing.

If they give out too much information this could be used against them in those proceedings.

 

[deb]

Here come the Global Press...Remember I called Nelson Brady the Bernie Madoff of the Domain Industry First !!Lol, its not funny he got me for 40-50K so far...

The domain name industry gets its Bernie Madoff | Blog | Econsultancy

 

[maxeaus]

I agree with Microguy, about 1000 posts ago (earlier today!) he said Snap should offer everyone the domains affected at drop fee, i suggest they give everyone their domains for free, period!

There must be a few lawyers somewhere rubbing their hands together muttering CLASS ACTION.

If that dweeb thought high school was rough, he ought to imagine what prison's going to be like.

Enjoy your time, Nellie...

 

[fixxation]

I've only participated in a handful of Snap auctions - but one in particular caught my eye a couple years ago. I was the initial bidder, and at the exact same second there was a bid from halvarez. It was obvious that it was some automated process/bot that was built into their systems.

What I can't believe, is this 5% number - and how this took so long to be uncovered... surely there has to be move than one individual involved? Many of the other programmers would have seen this bot bidding behavior in the code. Pointing the finger at a single "employee" is a nice way to cover this up but I'm convinced there was a team of people involved for this to happen.

Really, really sad for this to happen - I'll be hesitant to use their services now because of this.

 

[TheBaldOne]

Surely the Federal authorities will have to instigate an investigation immediately?

I would have thought the IRS would have been involved from the start as there must be obvious tax questions in this case?

Also did/does SnapNames have offices in other countries? If so then there is the possibility of non-US investigations. That would lead to some interesting consequences for all the SnapNames board and others. Why do we have to extradite our citizens to the States but they do not extradite Americans to face trial over here or in other countries?

The big question though is the future, I think domain auctioning (Sedo fiascos with dodgy auctions and parking, Moniker auctions, and a whole lot of other 'big' companies are going to feel the full force of this 'dirty bomb' blast (paraphrasing Ron Jackson at DNJournal.com).

 

[HappyBunny]

Exactly how many auctions were involved?

I don't have the exact number. It was approximately 5% of auctions since 2005 with the majority occurring between 2005 and 2007

If you don't have the exact number, then where did the "5%" figure come from? Surely you know how many auctions have been running in SnapNames since 2005. Just tell us the number of total auctions, and we will get the answer = 0.05 x total.

 

[Tim Schoon]

lol.. I was in like 100 auctions with halvarez... means they will send me a lotta money?

 

[deb]

SnapNames Fraudster Sold To iREIT, Whois Shows SnapNames Fraudster Sold To iREIT, Whois Shows « Dots News

 

[Embrand]

This transcript of a chat between Monte Cahn and Adam Strong in 2005 on Moniker's website seems pretty funny in retrospect. They sure have given him a big pat on the back:

_____

Monte: Who do you primarily work with on the drops; which companies?

Adam: Ah, you know, that's a question that I've heard from a lot of people but the answer to that question is you really can't not work with somebody. I mean, you pretty much have to work with all the companies. But primarily, I love working with Snap. I mean, Nelson Brady is a godsend over at Snap and I hope they're listening over there at SnapNames and give Nelson a big pat on the back for his job. But I really appreciate SnapNames and I think their system is the best system out there but I work with Enom, Pool, you know, all the people that chase drops.

Monte: Right, right.
_____

Monte talks with Adam Strong & Mitch Farber

 

[Jeffrey]

Ironically, I was more of suspicious with Namejet than Snapnames, the bids at NJ are usually high than in SN.

 

[Ms Domainer]

*

I sincerely believe that the entire domain auction industry is suspect, and it all started when ICANN started looking the other way by allowing registrars to warehouse domains and passing them on to the auction houses.

It's a dirty filthy business, based on secrecy, criminality, and money laundering.

We are just seeing the tip of a big, nasty iceberg.

*

 

[RicoShay]

Its just a start, so many unanswered questions... it will be interesting to see how this unfolds. I have a feeling this isn't the biggest shock yet.

Is there more than one person involved in this? Yes imo.