The withdrawal was likely the result of a settlement with Vlad (the terms of which have not been disclosed) in which Vlad was required to post a statement which is essentially a lawyer contrived “I’m Sorry”. One highlight is where “Vlad” requests that other bloggers covering the story print retractions. Vlad was outgunned and his willingness to settle clearly reflects that.

Considering that Ben Behhrouzi has threatened BrokerScience with threats similar to those he made against Vlad, we see this defeat as fitting, to say the least.

“Behnam “Ben” Behrouzi filed what’s called an “unverified” complaint against Vlad.  That’s in contrast to a “verified” complaint, in which the plaintiff signs the complaint and declares under penalty of perjury that the statements in the complaint are true and correct.  The lawsuit ended in settlement without Behrouzi ever making any statement under oath.  Specifically, he never denied that he was responsible for the slander of Vlad.” - Brief Submitted to BrokerScience by Source that Wished to Remain Anonymous

View: All Ben Behrouzi / Brabus Ventures vs Zablotzkyy Court Documents

(The file above is 2mb, so be patient) A hat tip goes out to the attorney that delivered these and quote above to our doorstep and wished to remain anonymous.)

While most intelligent CEO’s couldn’t attract the kind of bad publicity and ill will Behrouzi has managed to generate for ePerks on their worst day, this is an area where Ben truly shines. Then again, Ben has proven himself to be a tactless bully time and time again, so this is par for the course.

Ben’s reward for bullying Vlad Zablotzkyy with childish antics is the distinction of having negative results in 7 of the top 10 results for his name when googling “Ben Behrouzi“. Great job Ben! These will remain for YEARS and YEARS. A google search for “ePerks” shows 9 out of the top 10 results have negative content.

Spamming the Ben Behrouzi Way

To counter the extremely negative public reaction to his business practices in google, Ben began a spam / search engine dilution campaign in August by creating accounts with a large amount of service providers such as youtube.com, vator.tv and others in hopes these would replace the existing negative google results that come up when googling “Ben Behrouzi”. You can find the complete list at the bottom of this very unprofessional and amateur looking homepage Ben has created for himself here. Over time, these will end up being virtually useless for his end goal of spamming the results for his name.

He has also started maxstartup.com that was originally yet another ePerks splog until recently. Don’t laugh too hard when reading this gem from “MaxStartUp”:

I’ve had several failures in my life with some lessons that have left their spots, and have even been victim to online lies and an actual blog war instigated by the many that are motivated by the basest of human qualities.

Did Brabus Ventures Implode or is the Brand Simply Toxic?

It is worth noting that Ben Behrouzi’s parent company, Brabus Ventures has recently disassembled its corporate website at BrabusVentures.com including removing the Cultures and Values pages that Ben Behrouzi stole from Mervyns.com and Chevron.com. It seems that the root cause is that Ben Behrouzi is distancing himself from Brabus Ventures with a name change, after all a google search for “Brabus Ventures” shows 7 out of 10 listings have negative content regarding his company. We have no word yet on whether Ben plans on changing his own name to escape the embarrassment associated with it.

Simply Embarrassing:

Brabus Ventures Before Disassembly

Brabus Ventures After Disassembly

The New Face of Brabus Ventures - DotNext Inc.

The Next Generation of Fail: DotNext, Inc.

DotNext, Inc. is the new incarnation of Brabus Ventures. When most companies change their name, they give notice on their home page and redirect visitors to the new domain. Not Ben Behrouzi. His ability to single handedly destroy brands is the reason he is running from the Brabus Ventures name / reputation. When people think of Brabus Ventures, they think of Ben Behrouzi, when they think of Ben Behrouzi, they think of ePerks and when people think of ePerks, they think of ….. well you get the idea. Ben Behrouzi, his brands and his ongoing business practices are very negatively viewed in the Real Estate Community.

Notice that at BrabusVentures.com lists ePerks and Brabus as the only company properties. It is not until you go to dotnexinc.com that you see LeapFish, Ziddler and Ihype as properties with no mention of Brabus or ePerks. They are clearly trying to stop the bleeding and brand destruction caused by being associated with the Brabus Ventures / Ben Behrouzi names by isolating ePerks and Brabus together. Wow and sad.

On a final note, in recent months, current ePerks employees have been briefing us on Ben’s latest “secret” project, LeapFish.com, but to be honest we don’t care. We’ve wasted enough time highlighting the EPIC FAIL that is Ben Behrouzi already. Surprisingly, Ben has failed to garner any top search engine spots for “Epic Fail” yet, but it is one thing Ben is consistent with, so give him time.

Thank you to the community and everyone that did what they could to help Vlad Zablotzkyy defeat Ben Behrouzi / Eperks / Brabus Ventures!!! While there are too many to thank individually, an honorable mention goes out to Andy Beard and “Big Gun” Swann for putting their weight behind Vlad.

Read: The Definitive Guide to Ben Behrouzi / ePerks

Other BrokerScience Coverage of Ben Behrouzi / ePerks:

The Beginner’s Action Guide to Learning about Vlad Zablotkyy vs. ePerks / Ben Behrouzi

ePerks Threatens BrokerScience with Legal Action

ePerks IP Address Link to Vlad Zablotzkyy: When the Hunter Becomes the Prey

iHype.com Launch Coverage Here

Ben Behrouzi Updates Company “Values” and “Culture” Web Pages. Only One Problem: They’re Stolen

Beginning of the End: ePerks CEO Ben Behrouzi Sues Blogger, Confirms No Strategy in Place

BrokerScience Acquires BenBehrouzi.com

ePerks.com: A Case Study in Greed and Self-Imposed Brand Destruction

2) Read the Blog Post / Comments That Started It All:

ePerks- A Scam or A Gem?

3) Read the Cease & Desist Letter, Threats and Lawsuit from ePerks CEO Ben Behrouzi:

Cease & Desist Letter: Chilling Effect: How A Behemoth Company Can Silence A Blogger

Threats from ePersk CEO Ben Behrouzi: Am I Being Sued By ePerks?

ePerks Lawsuit Against Vlad Zablotzkyy: ePerks Pulls the Trigger: I am being Sued

Read: BrokerScience Commentary on Suit

4) Read Vlad’s Response to Being Falsely Accused of Child Molestation:

How Far Do You Go To Silence A Blogger And When Does It Become Too Far?

5) Listen to the Shocking Ben Behrouzi Voice Mails:

ePerks CEO Ben Behrouzi Voicemails Exposed: Threatens to Blackball and Sue Employee

6) Learn about the ePerks Link to Vlad Zablotzkyy:

ePerks IP Address Link to Vlad Zablotzkyy: When the Hunter Becomes the Prey

7) Read about Behrouzi’s Threats Against BrokerScience

Ben Behrouzi Insinuates Legal Action Against BrokerScience, Cites “Damages” and his confirmation to take action against BrokerScience on Inman. Read BrokerScience commentary on Inman piece.

Take Action NOW:

Donate to the Vlad Zablotzkyy Legal Defense Fund

ePerks: A Case Study in Brand Destruction:

(These are the “minions” ePerk’s Attorney infamously referred to in this Inman Article.)

ePerks v Vlad: Strategies to Avoid a Viral World War

ePerks - I Am Not A Minion Mr Cook

Im Mad As Hell-You Will Be Too When You Read About Vlad Zablotskyy and ePerks

ePerks & Freedom of Speech?

An Open Letter to Ben Behrouzi

Real Estate Radio USA Interviews Mary McKnight

Zablotskyy the Scrivener

Vlad Zablotskyy V. ePerks The Cliffs Notes Version

Vlad Zablotskyy - A Martyr for Reputation Management

A Dark Day for Bloggers Everywhere

In Support of Vlad Zablotzkyy

Do I look Fat in This Lawsuit?

Nominee for PR Blunder of the Year - ePerks

Why Real Estate Agents Are Bailing on ePerks

5 Ways to Support Vlad Zablotzkyy

Suport Vlad Zablotskyy in his defense against ePerks.com frivolous suit

Some companies are stupid, and eperks may be the stupidest

ePerks: A brand going down in flames

ePerks vs Blogger Vlad Zablotskyy, Freedom of Speech in Cyberspace at Stake

Suport Vlad Zablotskyy in his defense against ePerks.com frivolous suit

ePerks Sues Real Estate Blogger

ePerks Using Questionable Tactics

Ben Behrouzi’s Fair Darts

Blogger Is Sued for Business Disparagement

Write a post supporting your fellow real estate blogger, Vlad Zablotskyy, in his battle with ePerks and I will give you a blog

ePerks Sues Real Estate Blogger, Blogosphere Unites to Destroy the ePerks Brand

RSS Pieces provides a rundown of how ePerks is destroying its own reputation

Want money back at closing?

ePerks Sues Blogger Vlad Zablotzkyy

Spreading the word about eJerks

Spreading the word about Vlad Zablotskyy and his battle with ePerks - Free Speech Issue For The Blogging Community

Is ePerks.com’s Ben Behrouzi, infamous for trying to censor a real estate weblogger, stealing content from Mervyns and Chevron?

Support the Vlad Zablotskyy Legal Defense Fund: A real estate weblogger is being throttled by corporate bully ePerks.com. The free speech rights you will be fighting for are your own…

Memo to ePerks.com: You idiots! Trying to censor a real estate weblogger is a poor way to defend your reputation — such as it is…

ePerks To Sue Blogger - Freedom Of Speech Threatened

Looking for lawyers…

Blogger is Sued for Business Disparagement

Sometimes everybody’s gotta take a side

ePerks: What Were They Thinking?

ePerks to Vlad: I’m Gonna Pound You

Blogging and Freedom of Speech

Blogger Get “Cease and Desist” from ePerks

iHype & ePerks - How To Kill A Startup

Memorial Day and the Plight of a Blogger

Open Letter to ePerks.com

ePerks Shafts Realtors

Are ePerks Spammers?

Real estate rebates and referrals with a twist

ePerks & iHype - Legal Kneejerk - Sues Blogger

Related BrokerScience ePerks / Ben Behrouzi Coverage:

ePerks.com: A Case Study in Greed and Self-Imposed Brand Destruction

ePerks CEO Ben Behrouzi Insinuates Legal Action Against BrokerScience, Cites “Damages”

Ben Behrouzi Updates Company “Values” and “Culture” Web Pages. Only One Problem: They’re Stolen

ePerks.com Link to Vlad Zablotzkyy

Ben Behrouzi / ePerks.com: A Case Study in Self Induced Search Engine Brand Destruction

BrokerScience Coverage of iHype.com Launch

BrokerScience Acquires BenBehrouzi.com

From the Interview:

In an Inman News interview, Richardson said, “There is a principle involved of the ability of the blogger to express an opinion. To write a critical piece. That affects us all.”

He said he has been contacted by ePerks officials about his writings at the site, and he offered, “If anything is printed that’s wrong, we’ll print a retraction — make corrections.”

Richardson said that if he, too, is hit with a lawsuit from ePerks, he expects to prevail. “If you have to do it, you have to do it. When we win, we will have that much more leverage in the future when people come to us,” he said.

ePerks CEO Ben Behrouzi on BrokerScience

Behrouzi said that the company does “seek to hold people accountable,” and named Trace Richardson, creator of the BrokerScience blog, as another blogger who is posting items about the company.

Our Response: The only person you need to hold responsible is yourself Ben. Your failure to assume responsibility for your actions is the cause of this ordeal and ultimately, the destruction of the ePerks brand. Make no mistake, not a single page about ePerks would have ever been written on BrokerScience had we not heard about a company named ePerks with a CEO named Ben Behrouzi that was bullying bloggers.

ePerks Attorney Ron Cook on the Lawsuit Against Vlad:

“The issue we’re trying to promote is responsible speech. If you’re going to take us on and criticize us, at least do it with some comments that have some validity to them,” he said.

“The free speech aspect of all of this is an important consideration. We don’t expect to live in a bubble where nobody can throw darts. We want to make sure the darts are fairly thrown.”

This above statement is stark contrast to the request he made in an earlier C & D letter to Vlad where he didn’t simply request that “darts were fairly thrown”, he requested removal of all current and future digital, print, internet or verbal reference of ePerks related content or ePerks related links.

“You are hereby instructed to promptly do the following: (1) shutter and prevent access to all blogs with any ePERKS reference or content; (2)remove any record of their existence; (3) terminate any links pointing to any blogs that reference ePERKS; and (4) cease and desist from any and all current and future digital, print, Internet or verbal reference to ePERKS.com or Barbus Venture Corporation. This includes closing down your January 28, 2008 lbog that continues to direct readers to your previous remarks and postings.” - ePerks Attorney Ron Cook in C & D letter to Vlad

ePerks Attorney Ron Cook on the Overwhelming Support Behind Vlad

“Clearly, his minions out there are rallying behind him.”

On that Note: A Special Treat for BrokerScience Readers!

If you are part of the Real Estate Community: Click Here

If you are Ben Behrouzi & Company: Click Here

Since BrokerScience first began covering ePerks and ePerks CEO Ben Behrouzi, we have received a lot of reader submitted information in the form of: stories of first hand experiences with ePerks / Ben Behrouzi (as employees and customers), emails, voice mails, and other miscellaneous information and data relating to Ben and company. We have published virtually none of it and do not plan on publishing it in the future unless it is pertinent to the facts involved in our coverage. The following voice mails are an exception. They help establish a pattern of legal harassment by Ben Behrouzi that goes all the way back to his days at Reply.com.

One common theme among all current and former employees we speak to that have worked under Ben Behrouzi at Reply.com or ePerks.com is that they fear the consequences involved with sharing their story. The legal harassment and worse that ePerks critics such as Vlad Zablotzkyy, Dennis Pease and BrokerScience have endured are a testament to those concerns.

One person that is not afraid of Ben Behrouzi is former Reply.com employee Scott Chestnut. Scott worked under Ben Behrouzi (who was the Chief Technology Officer despite the fact that he was still in school working on a philosophy degree) as a Senior Network Engineer. While building out what was to be a million dollar network, Scott realized that working for Ben was an unworkable situation, so he walked out in frustration. The following voice mail from Ben Behrouzi chronicles Ben’s threats to blackball Scott and insure he is unable to gain employment, insinuating this will affect him for life and have deep reaching effects.

“My new goal in life is going to become to ruin your name across this entire East Bay……..you can take that to the bank, you can put your future kids or your girlfriend or whoever you want to put on it.” - ePerks CEO, Ben Behrouzi to employee that left the company

Ben Behrouzi Threatening to Blackball and “Ruin the Name” of Former Employee

http://brokerscience.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/benscott.mp3">Download audio file (a>)

Later, Ben left another message regarding a vendor, CDW. He again makes false allegations and threatens legal action. Even though he claims he is in the process of preparing legal action, no legal action ever took place, an experience similar to what others have faced.

Ben suggests “using dollars” to make up for the indiscretions he accuses Scott of, similar to the verbiage he used when he threatened BrokerScience and tried to set up a conference call to discuss “damages“.

At some point after Scott walked out, Ben and his team were reportedly let go from Reply.com and Scott was again offered his position back at Reply.com.

Ben Behrouzi Threatening Legal Action Against Former Employee / No Action Was Ever Filed

http://brokerscience.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/benscott2.mp3">Download audio file (a>)

Conclusion. These voice mails are more evidence documenting a pattern of legal harassment and threats by Ben Behrouzi against anybody that gets in his way. While I am not familiar with the legality of of blackballing I am somewhat certain that “ruining someone’s name” for the purposes of insuring they cannot obtain employment is nothing short of defamation. Ben’s actions are consistent with the lack of ethics we have seen ePerks and iHype exhibit. There is now no question that in our opinion, Ben Behrouzi operates without an ethical or moral code.

Feedback: Do you have a negative or positive ePerks / Ben Behrouzi story you would like to share as an current or ex employee, colleague or customer? We can’t guarantee we will publish it, but appreciate your feedback and it may help bloggers like Vlad Zablotzky fight against Ben Behrouzi and company. Contact us here.

Related BrokerScience ePerks Coverage:

ePerks.com: A Case Study in Greed and Self-Imposed Brand Destruction

ePerks CEO Ben Behrouzi Insinuates Legal Action Against BrokerScience, Cites “Damages”

Ben Behrouzi Updates Company “Values” and “Culture” Web Pages. Only One Problem: They’re Stolen

ePerks.com Link to Vlad Zablotzkyy

Ben Behrouzi / ePerks.com: A Case Study in Self Induced Search Engine Brand Destruction

BrokerScience Coverage of iHype.com Launch

BrokerScience Acquires BenBehrouzi.com

Quite frankly, in light of the growing attention and coverage Ben Behrouzi’s cease & desist letter and legal threats to Vlad, we didn’t think Ben and company would be so foolish stupid as to continue in such a self defeating manner. We have a lot to learn. Ben has continued his tour de force of driving ePerks into the ground by threatening BrokerScience with legal action and following up with a lawsuit against Vlad which will ultimately prove to be his coup de grace.

Online Reputation and Brand Destruction. Ben’s actions have exponentially increased the numbers of outraged bloggers and real estate professionals linking to Vlad’s blog. The result is that the very blog post that Ben / ePerks fought to suppress now ranks #2 in a Google search for ePerks, right below ePerks.com. Seven of the top 10 results contain negative commentary on ePerks. Even paid blog posts sponsored by ePerks are overrun by negative comments from unhappy ePerks users. Eight of the top ten results for “Ben Behrouzi” are negative. BrokerScience ranks number four and five for “ePerks.com”, number six and seven for “ben behrouzi” and number two for “iHype.com”. It is my opinion that this case will be referenced in future studies and textbooks dealing with online reputation and brand management. One thing is for sure Behrouzi and company are panicked and they should be.

Recognized SEO Expert Aaron Wall on the Brand Damage ePerks Has Caused to its Domain Name:

Lots of links will flow, but unfortunately their brand is destroyed. Perhaps they can later 301 redirect their site, but the PageRank is probably going to be worth less than the negative karma associated with the conflict.

Game Over. As bad as the ePerks situation has become, the greatest damage is likely still to come. If Behrouzi drops the case against blogger, Vlad Zablotzkyy, there will be a tidal wave of attention on his defeat. If he moves forward against Vlad, he will likely lose, if his case does not get thrown out first. More importantly, if a direct IP address connection is made between the false child molestation allegations, Ben and company will face not only civil action, but more importantly criminal fraud charges and intense media scrutiny and coverage. Of course, all of the negativity will also haunt Behrouzi in future projects such as his failed to launch startup, iHype.com and virtually guarantees his inability to attract investors in the future. His brand, name and reputation are in short, toxic. All of this damage done and the story has not even gone national yet. The real fallout occurs when the New York Times, LA Times, or similar carry the story, which is looking sooner rather then later. A likely trigger for this will be if Ben follows up up on his threats to BrokerScience or when the right person finally notices the story.

Small Sample of Recent ePerks / Ben Behrouzi Coverage

Is ePerks.com’s Ben Behrouzi, infamous for trying to censor a real estate weblogger, stealing content from Mervyns and Chevron?

Support the Vlad Zablotskyy Legal Defense Fund: A real estate weblogger is being throttled by corporate bully ePerks.com. The free speech rights you will be fighting for are your own…

Memo to ePerks.com: You idiots! Trying to censor a real estate weblogger is a poor way to defend your reputation — such as it is…

ePerks To Sue Blogger - Freedom Of Speech Threatened

Blogger is Sued for Business Disparagement

Sometimes everybody’s gotta take a side

ePerks: What Were They Thinking?

ePerks to Vlad: I’m Gonna Pound You

Blogging and Freedom of Speech

Blogger Get “Cease and Desist” from ePerks

iHype & ePerks - How To Kill A Startup

Memorial Day and the Plight of a Blogger

Open Letter to ePerks.com

ePerks Shafts Realtors

Are ePerks Spammers?

ePerks & iHype - Legal Kneejerk - Sues Blogger

• BenBehrouzi.com
• BenBehrouzi.net
• BehzadBehrouzi.com
• BrabusVentures.net
• BrabusVentures.org
• BrabusVentures.biz

Internet domain name case law provides that these names can be used in a capacity that does not create confusion in the market place. In the future they may be used to host and support a Defense Fund for bloggers that are sued by ePerks / Ben Behrouzi / Brabus Ventures Corporation. Have an idea for what we can use them for? Drop us a line!

We left BehnamBehrouzi.com (Ben’s legal name) for Ben if he so chooses to use it. We’ve also left most of the Behzad (Ben’s Brother, “Director of Product for Brabus Ventures”) domain names untouched. We are disappointed to report that Behzad’s preferred pseudonym (as anonymously reported by current ePerks employees), Kevin Morris is not available as a domain name.

Related Stories:

Original BrokerScience Eperks Case Study

ePerks Threatens BrokerScience with Legal Action

BrokerScience Coverage of iHype.com Launch

ePerks IP Address Link to Vlad Zablotzkyy: When the Hunter Becomes the Prey

Ben Behrouzi Updates Company “Values” and “Culture” Web Pages. Only One Problem: They’re Stolen

Beginning of the End: ePerks CEO Ben Behrouzi Sues Blogger, Confirms No Strategy in Place

While it is not uncommon for CEO’s to be upset with criticism that their companies receive, it is highly unusual, perhaps unheard of, for CEO’s to follow the path that Ben Behrouzi has in single handedly destroying his reputation, brand and likely becoming liable for slander and defamation. The secondary effect that is as the story continues to grow it only serves to increase his exposure to growing murmurs regarding a Class Action lawsuit by dissatisfied ePerks users. To date: 8 of the top 10 results in a Google search for “eperks.com”and likewise “ben behrouzi” point to content that has negative commentary or comments about ePerks and ePerks CEO Ben Behrzouzi.

This morning, Vlad Zablotzkyy was served with a civil action from Brabus Ventures Corporation (ePerks parent company, owned by Behnam Behrouzi) claiming unspecified damages for posting information on his blog about a false child molestation allegation that was made against him. Vlad made no accusations but simply presented anecdotal evidence indicating that ePerks was possibly linked to the false charges. The evidence showed that user names used by the person posting false child molestation allegations matched user names used by persons leaving comments on Vlad blog originating from ePerks.com corporate IP address.

Fluff. The purpose of a Cease & Desist letter is to forewarn of pending legal action in lieu of compliance. When legal action is taken, the actions should be consistent with the items cited in the Cease & Desist letter if they have validity.

Break down of Specific Complaints in ePerks C & D Letter vs. Actual Complaint:

• C & D: “Your only goal is to cast ePERKS in a negative light for personal gain…………your blogs deceptively fail to inform the reader that you are motivated by an undisclosed proprietary interest in an ePERKS competitor.” Not Included in Complaint.
  
• C & D: “Having researched the content of your blogs, we have come to conclusive proof that a substantial number of your postings are bogus, in that they frequently describe experiences that never happened and people who do not exist.” Not Included in Complaint.
• C & D: “Our research also shows that negative remarks are not only invited, but are posted without a challenge.” Not Included in Complaint.

Central Complaint:

“Defendant Zablotskyy published an accusation on his blog website that plaintiff was responsible for an anonymous internet posting alleging that defendant was a child molester. Said post by defendant is attached hereto as Exhibit “A”. At the time the Exhibit “A” post was published, defendant had no reasonable basis to accuse plaintiff, or its internet name ePERKS.com of being the author of the child molester post.”

Stupidity. ePerks is going after Vlad for accusing them of being behind the child molestation allegation on Yahoo Answers. The fact is that Vlad did not accuse them as such, he simply presented anecdotal evidence. The irony is that the single piece of information that will confirm what IP Address the Yahoo Answers post originated from and will likely invalidate ePerk’s complaint is one subpoena away and is the also the single piece of evidence that will provide Vlad with an airtight Libel and Defamation case against ePerks should it link ePerks to the allegation.

On June 5th, one day after ePerk’s complaint against Vlad was filed, BrokerScience laid out the connection between ePerks and the Yahoo Answers child molestation post. While the link will only be definitive once Yahoo is subpoenaed, the anecdotal evidence points strongly to ePerks. One thing is for sure, it is very likely that Ben Behrouzi and company are panicked in light of the IP Address link to ePerks presented by BrokerScience only one day after their complaint was filed.

If ePerks was so unhappy with Vlad’s assertions, how will they feel about ours? Will BrokerScience be served in the coming days? Our fingers are crossed. An ePerks case against BrokerScience all but guarantees the story goes national, gaining exposure to Vlad’s plight and consumer complaints against ePerks.

Community Reaction: Greg Swann at BloodHound has established the Vlad Zablotzkyy Defense Fund.

Support Vlad Zablotskyy’s Defense Fund
Defend your own right to free speech!

The Complaint:

Related Stories:

Original BrokerScience Eperks Case Study

Ben Behrouzi Updates Company “Values” and “Culture” Web Pages. Only One Problem: They’re Stolen

ePerks.com Link to Vlad Zablotzkyy

BrokerScience Coverage of iHype.com Launch

ePerks CEO Ben Behrouzi Insinuates Legal Action Against BrokerScience, Cites “Damages”

BrokerScience Acquires BenBehrouzi.com

This is no surprise, CEO Ben Behrouzi and his companies have a proven track record of engaging in unethical behavior and marketing and his latest debacle of adding “copyright infringement” to his resume are par for the course. This is a time that one would think, as CEO, he should be apologizing to the victims of his harassment and focusing on his failed startup, iHype.com which one of his employees humorously defended as a “soft launch” when it failed to launch as announced on June 2nd.

BrabusVentures.com Steals Culture Page from Mervyns.com

(Click Thumbnail Below For Full Size Image)

Screenshot of Original Mervyns.com Page (URL) / Screenshot of Offending BrabusVentures.com Page (URL)

BrabusVentures.com Steals Values Page from Chevron.com

(Click Thumbnail Below For Full Size Image)

Screenshot of Original Chevron.com Page (URL) / Screenshot of Offending BrabusVentures.com Page (URL)

Dissasemble. I really want to make this story go away, but it’s the gift that keeps on giving. I REALLY want to write some positive stories here.

While it is fairly common for content to be recycled on real estate and mortgage websites (especially privacy pages, legal pages, glossaries and even basic content that define general concepts) it is never ok for a CEO or Founder to steal a Mission Statement, Values Statement, or Definition of Company Culture. Never. Ever.

These are the documents that define the moral, ethical and business code of your company and are the basis for the culture that is created through the actions and leadership of company founders and management. These are to be created with care, sensitivity and purpose. Without positive core beliefs, philosophies and morals, one is truly lost.

Related Posts:

Original BrokerScience Eperks Case Study

ePerks CEO Ben Behrouzi Threatens BrokeScience Citing “Damages”

ePerks.com Link to Vlad Zablotzkyy

BrokerScience Coverage of iHype.com Launch

Beginning of the End: ePerks CEO Ben Behrouzi Sues Blogger, Confirms No Strategy in Place

BrokerScience Acquires BenBehrouzi.com

In the transcript below, we asked you to provide us proof of any factual inaccuracies we have published, you failed to do so.

You state that what we are publishing is “completely false and now damaging the company“, yet failed to list even one “false item” or “fabrication” and failed to prove how we are damaging your company.

More importantly, you have failed to take responsibility for your own actions, those of your employees and the consequences that have befallen you as a result of the behaviors you engage in.

While your harassment of bloggers like Vlad Zablotkyy, Dennis Pease, myself & others speaks volumes about your character, the feedback I have been getting from your employees is even more telling. While I have been given the green light by my legal team to share my conversations with a handful of your employees, it is not my intention to do so at this time.

You claim that I have threatened a suit against and harassed your employees. That is categorically false. For the record, my only complaint against your employees is that they suck for sending me spam.

You claim that I have shown up at one of your employees’ homes. That is categorically false. In a conversation with one of your employees (the conversation lasted one and a half hours), I indicated that I had seen proof that the domain name they personally owned and sent ePerks spam from was registered to a private residence, not a business. I simply used Google Maps Street View to make this confirmation. If they falsely concluded that I trekked from Los Angeles to San Francisco to see their home, they were mistaken.

If you care to continue this dialog in the courtroom of public opinion, it will be my pleasure to disassemble you and your argument at will using nothing more than your own words against you from here on out.

If you are so stupid as to think you have something to gain by continuing this dialog in Superior Court, I want to thank you in advance for the recognition, traffic and revenue you will bring to BrokerScience as the story goes national and you become personally responsible for being the tipping point that puts BrokerScience.com on the map.

Trace Richardson / BrokerScience

Email Transcript

Related Stories:

Original BrokerScience Eperks Case Study

ePerks.com Link to Vlad Zablotzkyy

BrokerScience Coverage of iHype.com Launch

Ben Behrouzi Updates Company “Values” and “Culture” Web Pages. Only One Problem: They’re Stolen

Beginning of the End: ePerks CEO Ben Behrouzi Sues Blogger, Confirms No Strategy in Place

BrokerScience Acquires BenBehrouzi.com

Vlad wrote on his blog that he noticed that many of the fake positive ePerks comments with different names were all originating from the same IP address range (starting at 76.206.0.160) and using the same email address of sadighij@yahoo.com. This same IP address range has also been traced to forums where ePerks has posted false positive comments or shill comments as documented by Andy Beard.

1) Fake Comment Posted to Vlad’s Blog Using IP Address 76.206.0.161 / sadighij@yahoo.com

The comment above is very telling:

• It mentions the notion of a lawsuit before Vlad has received a C & D letter or threat of litigation from ePerks.
• Indicates a “blog about Vlad will also begin”.

2. Later, This blog by “Marco Hernandez” (blog deleted but archive screen shot here) appeared promising information about Vlad and suggests that readers search Yahoo Answers (where a false allegation of child molestation was later made, see below) From the blog, “If you search online on Yahoo Answers you will already get a glimpse of what I am talking about.”

3. When Vlad emailed the person leaving comments above at sadighij@yahoo.com to notify them that they were banned from making any further comments on blog. The following dialog took then place:

From: Jaffar Sadighi sadighij@yahoo.com
To: Vlad Zablotskyy vladzablotskyy@gmail.com
Sent: Friday, January 25, 2008 2:48:08 PM
Hehe. Vlad, I want you to know I eat people like you for breakfast. You are simply pouring fuel. I will enjoy this one.
—– Original Message —-
From: Vlad Zablotskyy vladzablotskyy@gmail.com
To: Jaffar Sadighi sadighij@yahoo.com
Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2008 2:48:08 PM
Subject: One word for you: BANNED

You are banned from leaving further comments on my blogs. Enjoy your life.

4. Shortly Thereafter “Jaffar S” (note: Jaffar Sadighi is same name / email used in original comments to Vlad’s blog from IP Address 76.206.0.161) Posted the Following to Yahoo Answers:

Since Jaffar Sadighi is a unique name, it is reasonable to conclude that the liklihood that the Jaffar Sadighi that was posting fake pro ePerks comments on Vlad’s blog from IP address 76.206.0.160 and the “Jaffar S” that posted the child molestation claims on Yahoo Answers shortly thereafter are likely one and the same. The only way to positively make this connection is for Vlad to subpoena Yahoo Answers to get the IP Address of the person that posted the child molestation claims.

Bombshell

BrokerScience has obtained an email sent by an ePerks employee that was sent from IP address 76.206.0.160, the same range used by the person caught posting fake positive ePerks comments as “Jaffar S” to Vlad’s blog and is suspected to have been involved in posting the false child molestation allegations against Vlad on Yahoo Answers as “Jaffar S”.

The following email header (extracted from a customer service representative’s response to a general inquiry BrokerScience made) shows that this email originates from IP address 76.206.0.164, thereby connecting the ePerks corporate IP address range to the harassing comments on Vlad’s blog and and to fake positive ePerks comments on other forums as previously documented. BrokerScience has also obtained other emails associating ePerks with this IP Address range. For the less technically inclined, an email header allows you to track the exact point of origination for an email and the path it follows until it gets to its destination.

Email Header Confirming ePerks is Source of IP Address 76.206.0.164

What It All Means. The consequences of the IP address link to ePerks and the associated activity involving Vlad Zablotzkyy are as follows: If Vlad chooses to subpoena Yahoo Answers for the IP address used to post the slanderous false claims of child molestation against him and the post is found to have originated from ePerk’s IP address, then Vlad has a very clear case of slander and defamation that he can pursue against ePerks if he so chooses. While ePerks CEO, Ben Behrouzi threatened litigation on clearly baseless claims with nothing to gain, but everything to lose (how do you think we heard about ePerks?), Vlad stands to gain quite a bit if he takes them to task. In fact, there is speculation that Vlad has a strong case without a direct link to Yahoo Answers post. On a side note, many of the marketing activities we have shown that ePerks engages in have become illegal in England, only time will tell if the same becomes true in the United States.

BrokerScience’s Biggest Fans.

A quick glance at BrokerScience June visitor logs shows that the #3 and #4 most frequent visitors to BrokerScience also originate from the same IP address range associated with ePerks. We’re flattered. Really.

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Beginning of the End: ePerks CEO Ben Behrouzi Sues Blogger, Confirms No Strategy in Place

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