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.

The Complaint:

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 (update: blog content removed, so we have removed link to it) 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.