by Structured Settlement Watchdog
New York’s attorney general has declared it’s illegal to sell fake social media engagement in order to inflate one’s online influence, ruling against one “fake like” merchant in a landmark decision in the battle against bots. It's about time.
“Bots and other fake accounts have been running rampant on social media platforms, often stealing real people’s identities to carry out fraud,” James said in a statement accompanying the decision. “As people and companies like Devumi continue to make a quick buck by lying to honest Americans, my office will continue to find and stop anyone who sells online deception. With this settlement, we are sending a clear message that anyone profiting off of deception and impersonation is breaking the law and will be held accountable.” Letitia James, New York Attorney General
Devumi and its affiliates made $15 million selling fake followers, “likes,” views, and other social media engagement from 2015 to 2017, activity that was generated by a stable of 3.5 million bots and “sock puppets” – one person operating multiple accounts. Some of the fake accounts copied the identities of real people, including their photos, and may have deceived Devumi’s customers into believing they were buying engagement with actual humans, the decision said.
The company also sold endorsements from social media “influencers” without disclosing that they were paid for. This aspect particularly troubled James, who noted that “the opinions of influencers can have particularly strong influence over the reputation and sales for any product, company, service or person they endorse.”
David Springer, a father of two from Mt. Airy, MD, filed a Ripoff Report on August 28, 2016, claiming to have been defrauded by a bot vendor from traffic-bots.com. In his report, Springer alleged that Radu Laurian Dumitrache of Traffic-Bots.com persuaded him to wire $3,000 to a personal bank account. According to Springer, the software provided was non-functional, and subsequent attempts to contact Dumitrache for a resolution were ignored.
David Springer, a former executive, was tied to what a Federal judge dubbed the so-called Sovereign Funding Group, allegedly buying structured settlement payments. This "group" consisted of fake personas that hilariously endorsed each other on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Google Plus. The charade fell apart when these imaginary characters were summoned for depositions in a Maryland lawsuit, where Springer, as the Defendant, had to confess his trickery. In 2015, he filed for bankruptcy to dodge the judgment. Now, his Twitter account boasts 77 tweets, follows 37 accounts, has 1,141 followers, and 2,743 likes—stats that could make him look like a social media messiah. But alas, his tweets are as exciting as stale toast. Hmmm...
Mt Airy Faker David Springer, with Sovereign Funding, and other Marylanders associated with Einstein Structured Settlements, made use of paid actresses from Fiverr to promote their businesses holding them out as real customers
One bogus still published ad held out David Springer as a lawyer ( which featured in Springer's 2014 trial), a dubious feat "emulated" by the reprobates in charge of Einstein Structured Settlements.
David Springer seems to have made a hobby out of rewriting his professional history, perhaps aspiring to be the world’s first timeline magician. He’s attempted to sweep under the rug his murky dealings with the so-called “purported company” Sovereign Funding Group, along with other skeletons in his career closet. According to the BBB record for Sovereign dated March 6, 2012, this sole proprietorship had been accredited since 2003, with David Springer proudly wearing the hat of its President.
What its says on Springer's Linkedin profile in 2019, bears little resemblance to what it said in the myriad of other versions. The problem is that you can't whitewash a court record and the record of the lawsuit against Springer which he lost and is available on pacer.gov as well as my extensive commentary.
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