Is Adam Dicker a criminal? You decide.

[S-B]

This story starts with DNF; a barren wasteland that once was a leading forum within the domain industry. While the forum itself played a huge role in propagating the myth that is Adam Dicker, the story really begins with DNF College in the summer of 2011.

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Updates / Reports
These are in no particular order.

• Report by headsupp (Resolved)
  • Relevant Videos
  • Reply to Adam
  • Update: Resolved
  
  
• Report by LannyB (Unresolved)
  • Response
    • Follow-up Questions
  
  
• Report by domainesque (Unresolved)
  • Update: Unresolved
  • Report Details
  • Update: Waiting on Refund
  
  
• Report of Shane Cultra's friends (Unresolved)
  • Update: Unpaid
  
  
• Report by Jeff Markus (Dissatisfied)
  
  
• Report by simmplex (Resolved)
  • Refunded
  
  
• Report by Blenja_Man (Pending)
  • Voucher
  • Update: Work in Progress
  
  
• Report by RandysDomains (Resolved)
  • Resolved
  
  
• Report by swamismith (Unresolved)
  
  
• Report by Charlie (Unresolved)
  • Cover-up
  • Update: Unresolved
  
  
• Report by Jaqpot (Unresolved)
  
  
• Report by anon22339 (Unresolved)
  • Details
  
  
• Report by Joseph Peterson (Resolved)
  • Update: Unpaid after 8 days
  • Update: Paid
  
  
• Report by Frank Schilling (Resolved)
  • Update: Paid
  
  
• Report by Lonewolf5503 (Paypal Dispute)
  • Update: Website not delivered and no longer accessible
  • Update: Lonewolf5503 wins PayPal dispute
  
  
• Report by GermanRaven (Unresolved)
  • Update: Full story
  
  
• Report by ClaudeDauman (Unresolved)
  
  
• Report by bobsranch (Unresolved)
  • Details
  • Update: Legal Letter Received
  
  
• Report by Newby888 (Unresolved)
  
  
• Report by dougasd (Unresolved)

From what I understand, Adam still owes north of $33,000 to previous customers and business partners. As I receive more information, I will update this figure.

 

[DomainGist]

IMHO, I think anyone of us having our names in a similar title would create the same reaction.

I have worked in the entertainment industry here in Florida where the Latin community wanted their Futbol feeds. It was a big demand here for hacked satellite stuff in the 80s.

It's a completely different world now.

Thanks for the reply.

Regards,

WPM

I live in the UK where people still want their football feeds, and I watch them, making your point about hypocrisy a valid one. I consume a similar type of service to the one that Adam Dicker offered, in a way, when I log on to a streaming site to watch a live football game for free.

 

[WPM]

Actually getting charged by the RCMP is pretty serious. Anyone else on this thread been charged by the RCMP or FBI for a crime? Ahh yea didn't think so.

Did you give anyone time to answer? hehe How big does a skeleton have to be to be a federal case?

I hear ya Jeff, and I feel for ya. And I am not trying to diminish the importance of your loss.

Thanks for the reply.

Regards,

WPM

 

[daj]

Info about Satan's Playhouse investigation here:
http://hitecsat.com/echostar/exhibits/TEX1148.pdf
might be more here: http://hitecsat.com/echostar/

 

[WPM]

Info about Satan's Playhouse investigation here:
http://hitecsat.com/echostar/exhibits/TEX1148.pdf
might be more here: http://hitecsat.com/echostar/

Thanks for that info.

But all things considered, "SatansPlayhouse".... Modified P4 satellite cards would have been the last "nefarious" activities I would have thought of occurring.

Regards,

WPM

 

[WPM]

nor I am not condoning false advertising

Sorry...

*Nor am I condoning...

 

[frank-germany]

One thing to remember - and on subject: Dicker created this bigger than life persona, and nobody questioned its facts. Nobody. People aren't supposed to be paranoid. Trust is the #1 connecting bond between people. Lose that, and things fall apart.

trust is not the answer to the problems discussed in this thread

there is no good reason to trust anybody
based on online claims

you may trust your wife or your child or even your dog
but even then you may get disappointed

when you use the internet you want to learn how to deal with this medium
as not the same behavior applies here
as you were used to when you went to school

when you send money online
make sure your protect yourself as much as you can

why don't you use escrow.com?
why don't you sign a contract before you transfer money?
and only release the money when the goods / services are supplied?

There is no good reason to believe anything you read on the net

But its a good idea to question everything
especially when you send money to a complete stranger

 

[Charley]

My biggest peeve is lost trust: I can't get a 'refund' on that.

Importantly his reputation went south as well.

 

[HeyNow]

@Jeff Markus - I was never "close to Adam." He ran DNF since 2004 and appeared to be a nice guy.

Met him in 2012 for the first time in person, then at NamesCon. I've broken all ties with him since Monday.

All I had to say about Dicker is at http://acro.net/blog/addressing-the-elephant-in-the-room/

Haha! You're another one now distancing himself/herself from AD, only after this thread appeared. You and everyone else had public-record documentation of what AD was about, but you didn't give enough of a crap to distance yourself then. He "appeared to be a nice guy." Really? After the 2008 TDNAM Godaddy scandal? After the 2006 UDRP findings? He appeared to be a nice guy? Well, now the stank is on you too. You appear disingenuous, totally. Some of us were bringing up this shit way back when, but guys like you kept hitting us over the head with nonsense about proof, libel, and a bunch of other crap. Well, how does it now feel to be close to the "inside." You're there. That's what you wanted. Own it.

 

[DomainGist]

Haha! You're another one now distancing himself/herself from AD, only after this thread appeared. You and everyone else had public-record documentation of what AD was about, but you didn't give enough of a crap to distance yourself then. He "appeared to be a nice guy." Really? After the 2008 TDNAM Godaddy scandal? After the 2006 UDRP findings? He appeared to be a nice guy? Well, now the stank is on you too. You appear disingenuous, totally. Some of us were bringing up this sh*t way back when, but guys like you kept hitting us over the head with nonsense about proof, libel, and a bunch of other crap. Well, how does it now feel to be close to the "inside." You're there. That's what you wanted. Own it.

But people are damned if they do and damned if they don't. People are asking why Cyger has remained silent on this issue. Posts like this is why, he has nothing to gain. If he doesn't pipe up he is criticised for remaining silent, if he does then he is inviting people to respond like this. So who can blame him for remaining silent. If we we simply don't know how much somebody really knew then perhaps we should just give them the benefit of the doubt.

I was one who spoke out about the media blackout and the way that it felt people considered Dicker untouchable, but I'm prepared to accept the explanation that they wanted to see how he dealt with the crisis before reporting it, primarily because I don't want to see other bloggers being put off doing the same and publicising this issue.

 

[headsupp]

In the small niche of Domaining, we are all somewhat interconnected in some way. So the Guilt By
Association would affect half the industry. So lets not get to caught up about the Industry bloggers who are simply following their own gut on what they wish to post about and what not. People make considerable efforts to build bridges, and you don't want to burn bridges on the dime. For some, it might take more convincing to sway their opinion about a leading figure, especially if that person was perceived to be One of the Top Honchos .

For any public supporters of Adam that are posting here, I solute your braveness and loyalty (even though I think it is foolish considering the tone this entire post has taken) to come out and defending your own self interests.

What it comes down to is: Lets simply hope that all affected parties that are in need of reimbursement receive what is rightfully theirs.

 

[FlipperC]

Let's get back to business:

Today is Friday, October 23rd at 8:40 in the morning Ontario time -- where the whois on adamdicker.com says he lives.

Adam Dicker said he would pay everyone listed on page 1 (initial post) by Friday, October 16. This didn't happen.

He sold dnf.com and likely has the money to pay back his debt.

I hope Adam Dicker pays them back today and we can all move on from the labor of reading this thread.

I hope Shane Bellone updates us all if Adam Dicker doesn't pay by today.

 

[dordomai]

Haha! You're another one now distancing himself/herself from AD, only after this thread appeared. You and everyone else had public-record documentation of what AD was about, but you didn't give enough of a crap to distance yourself then. He "appeared to be a nice guy." Really? After the 2008 TDNAM Godaddy scandal? After the 2006 UDRP findings? He appeared to be a nice guy? Well, now the stank is on you too. You appear disingenuous, totally. Some of us were bringing up this sh*t way back when, but guys like you kept hitting us over the head with nonsense about proof, libel, and a bunch of other crap. Well, how does it now feel to be close to the "inside." You're there. That's what you wanted. Own it.

Why or what should Acro have known because of this information? Should he have known all the UDRP everyone got and distance himself from everyone who got one?

What to do if You Receive a UDRP Complaint
First of all, a UDRP complaint is not a lawsuit or a criminal charge. Nor is it associated with any government body.

http://donnasblog.com/legal/so-you-got-a-udrp/

 

[daj]

Here's some comic relief while we wait...

 

[DomainGist]

Let's get back to business:

Today is Friday, October 23rd at 8:40 in the morning Ontario time -- where the whois on adamdicker.com says he lives.

Adam Dicker said he would pay everyone listed on page 1 (initial post) by Friday, October 16. This didn't happen.

He sold dnf.com and likely has the money to pay back his debt.

I hope Adam Dicker pays them back today and we can all move on from the labor of reading this thread.

I hope Shane Bellone updates us all if Adam Dicker doesn't pay by today.

I'll stick my neck out and say this..... the refunds won't happen.

At best there will be a token refund or two, as a delaying tactic so that it can become next friday again for the rest, then the friday after, then a token refund, a process which will continue to repeat itself over and over again to drag this on forever.

A man who ran out of money with kids in college and a mortgage to pay (probably), and just lost his only cash cow (nichewebsites.com) and any chance he has of cashing in on speaking engagements.

Yes he's sold a domain for probably high $$$$$.

Amazing that people think faith that a man with no money and now no/little income is going to use that money to refund people in a futile attempt to repair a reputation which is now beyond repair to save a business which no longer exists.

What is the logical reason why refunds could have been processed yesterday? When we know he had money? Answers on a postcard.

More likely he now has no income and living costs to cover, his domains the only thing he has left to sell for an income. Or needs the money to start a new business (which would have to be run anonymously or offline).

I'll get criticism for this soon to be uneditable post, that may last about 14 hours until another Friday passes and people wake up and smell the coffee, or it may last longer if he does actually make good today, but I'll take my chances. That criticism will come from people who for some reason still have a smidgen of faith that this man is going to make good.

I actually hope that their faith is repaid and I'm proved wrong. What are the odds though?

 

[daj]

I'll stick my neck out and say this..... the refunds won't happen.

At best there will be a token refund or two, as a delaying tactic so that it can become next friday again for the rest, then the friday after, then a token refund, a process which will continue to repeat itself over and over again to drag this on forever.

A man who ran out of money with kids in college and a mortgage to pay (probably), and just lost his only cash cow (nichewebsites.com) and any chance he has of cashing in on speaking engagements.

Yes he's sold a domain for probably high $$$$$.

Amazing that people think faith that a man with no money and now no/little income is going to use that money to refund people in a futile attempt to repair a reputation which is now beyond repair to save a business which no longer exists. Particularly as there is no logical reason that I can see why refunds couldn't have been processed yesterday.

More likely he now has no income and living costs to cover, his domains the only thing he has left to sell for an income. Or needs the money to start a new business (which would have to be run anonymously or offline).

I'll get criticism for this soon to be uneditable post, that may last about 12 hours until people wake up and smell the coffee, or it may last longer if he does actually make good today, but I'll take my chances. That criticism will come from people who for some reason still have a smidgen of faith that this man is going to make good.

I actually hope that their faith is repaid and I'm proved wrong. What are the odds though?

Even if if it were true about his lack of money, he still has a shitload of domains he could easily sell in an auction, pay everyone he owes and have enough money for him & his family to live comfortably off of for the rest of their lives without any of them having to work. He claimed to have a portfolio worth 200mil. I doubt that's true, but I don't think 10-25mil is out of question.

 

[DomainGist]

I doubt that's true, but I don't think 10-25mil is out of question.

Have you seen some of his domains? He owns a lot of junk, thousands of .ca domains and four word reg fee EMDs. We know that some of his best domains are co-owned, and the renewal fees alone on his portfolio will be something like $400k a year.

To have a portfolio worth $25m his domains would need to be worth more than $600 each on average. Yet a hell of a lot of them would struggle to raise $1 on a namepros auction.

Lets face it, he was using his frequent DomainSherpa exposure to push his NicheWebsites.com cash cow and courses as a means of subsidising a domain portfolio which is mostly full of junk, now he has no exposure, no income and a domain portfolio which is unlikely to pay for itself. That's the reality of the situation here.

Wow, he sold a domain for probably around $80k, like less than three months of renewal costs. I wonder how much time he has spent turning auto-renew off on his .ca domains over the past week or two. He's broke.

 

[dordomai]

He should have known http://www.wired.com/2008/06/godaddy-vp-caug/

from my understanding of the article nothing really happened here. he bought some domains @ godaddy auctions while teleworking for the company. there was no trading on insider information nor was there a scheme to bid up auction prices. GD didn't have a policy that forbid their employees from bidding but because they wanted to have a good reputation as a domain marketplace they decided eventually to stop it.

this was not a halvarez scandal. At least that's the information that got reported but i can't tell if there are some secrets we don't know about. Sticking to the offical version and facts nothing happened here.

Although Go Daddy insists Dicker, vice president of the Domain Name After Market, did nothing "improper," his actions raise concerns about Go Daddy’s policies and practices.

Go Daddy says Adam Dicker had "NO ACCESS to ‘inside information,’… no more access than you would have had in the auction."

The company adds that Dicker didn’t hide his identity in any way, and even though he did nothing wrong, they decided to "’go above and beyond’ to show our commitment to the customer…. even though forbidding employees to participate in a transparent auction is a little like telling a ‘brick and mortar’ retail worker he or she can’t shop at their own store."

let's stick to the facts... what should acro have known?

 

[MasterOfMyDomains]

Jeff, yes
The law system is a joke. There are many loopholes in the system here.
The rcmp is a disgrace and the judges are finger puppets.
civil matters i know nothing but the cops ha
i would expect if it came to court proceedings your looking at years of legal blah blah.

I hope this gets resolved in a civil matter between all parties involved, promptly.

 

[DomainGist]

Adam Dicker just viewed my linkedin profile, so he's awake. I should probably be worried, lets face it, this probably means he thinks I've crossed the line.

 

[pqr]

Disclaimer: My post is not about not about AdamDicker/Acro/dordomal/anyone else - it is only about this Wired article: http://www.wired.com/2008/06/godaddy-vp-caug/

The company adds that Dicker didn’t hide his identity in any way, and even though he did nothing wrong, they decided to "’go above and beyond’ to show our commitment to the customer…. even though forbidding employees to participate in a transparent auction is a little like telling a ‘brick and mortar’ retail worker he or she can’t shop at their own store."

That is a very wrong analogy, because:
1. The prices paid by customers at a shop for an item do not change based on whether a worker buys the same item
2. Customers know that workers shop there
3. It is mostly non-unique items (commodity) which are sold in a retail shop while a domain is unique - there is ONLY ONE.
4. Shops sell using a fixed price, instant satisfaction mode. Auctions' prices depend on the number of bids and the prices bid by bidders.
5. Customers' mentality is completely different in both cases.
6. List of 100 other reasons which I don't have time to type.

 

[daj]

Have you seen some of his domains? He owns a lot of junk, thousands of .ca domains and four word EMDs. We know that some of his best domains are co-owned, and the renewal fees alone on his portfolio will be up to $400k a year.

Lets face it, he was using his frequent DomainSherpa exposure to push his NicheWebsites.com cash cow and courses as a means of subsidising a domain portfolio which is mostly full of junk, now he has no exposure, no income and a domain portfolio which is unlikely to pay for itself. That's the reality of the situation here.

Well..he does live on a street where there isn't any homes worth less than $1.2 million, he lives in a newer constructed home (built in 2013-2014) that he most likely paid in excess of $1.8 million for. He isn't struggling by any means that we know of yet. He just had a $50k+ home theater added to his home in June/July as he indicated on FB as well. Yeah he lied about a lot of things but he definitely isn't broke if he can manage to live in a house like he lives in.

 

[DomainGist]

Well..he does live on a street where there isn't any homes worth less than $1.2 million, he lives in a newer constructed home (built in 2013-2014) that he most likely paid in excess of $1.8 million for. He isn't struggling by any means that we know of yet. He just had a $50k+ home theater added to his home in June/July as he indicated on FB as well. Yeah he lied about a lot of things but he definitely isn't broke if he can manage to live in a house like he lives in.

OK well he's awake, he's viewed my linkedin profile presumably after reading my posts predicting that he won't pay.

 

[daj]

OK well he's awake, he's viewed my linkedin profile presumably after reading my posts.

That's odd. Most likely looking for info he could use against you, me, and others?

 

[daj]

He clearly has time to view your linkedin profile, why doesn't he have time to click a button and refund paypal payments?

 

[Dadster]

If he doesn't pay this Friday - well there is always next Friday......and the next....

I am seeing lots of collateral damage here though - this thread is about getting AD to make things right with those he owes, correct? Why are all those other people being mentioned if there is no evidence that they have slighted anyone in any way?

Also seeing lots of egos emerging - isn't this about getting things righted for those wronged?

Just my two cents.....