A couple months ago I posted the cyber-bullying case involving Lori Drew. Drew, her then-13-year-old daughter, and a business associate created a MySpace profile of a fictitious boy and sent flirtatious messages to Megan Meier in the boy’s name to find out if Megan was spreading rumors about Drew’s daughter…

“The fake boy then dumped Megan in a message saying the world would be better without her.”

Megan Meier hung herself shortly after.

“Prosecutors charged Drew with four felony counts, but jurors rejected these for the lesser misdemeanor convictions and deadlocked on a fourth felony charge for conspiracy.”

They also rejected a recommendation from probation officers that Drew be given only probation and a $5,000 fine.

“The defendant has become the face of cyber-bullying. A probationary sentence might embolden others to use the Internet to torment and exploit children,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Krause said in court documents.

“Prosecutors argued that Drew sought to humiliate Megan, who she knew suffered from depression and was suicidal. They also said Drew tried to conceal the scheme after Megan died and avoided taking responsibility.”

All in all the prosecutors want Lori Drew to serve over at least 3 years in prison and $300,000 in fines.

Drew was not directly charged with causing Megan’s death, but,  prosecutors did indict her under the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act,  in what is believed to be the nation’s first case of using this law related to cyber-bullying. In the past, the law has been used in hacking and trademark theft cases.

To view the original article, click here and here.

RealDealDocs.com is a division of Practice Technologies, Inc. the creators of SmartRules.com.
SmartRules provides step by step guides to local rules and civil procedure for state courts & federal courts throughout the country.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Nigerian scammers popped up again in the news today, but this time, the scam scenario is a little bit different from what we are used to hearing.

The “You Have a Long Lost Relative Who Died and Left This Money for You” scenario was tossed out on this occasion, and the scammers used a different approach: targeting middle aged, female divorcees on dating sites.

The online dating scam started last year when a middle-aged divorcee received text messages from a man who was about 10 years younger than her.

“The man said, ‘You know, you’re a very pretty lady, I like your profile,’”

“You feel very flattered.” the victim told the Edmonton Sun.

After a few emails and instant messages, the two began exchanging texts and phone calls. Those eventually turned into promises of coming to Canada and getting married. Continuing for five months, eventually came the requests for money,  claiming that the man’s son was hospitalized and needed three surgeries.

“I had so many friends tell me, ‘Don’t send money,’” she said. “But you love that person, you believe what they say. You don’t want to stop.”

All in all, the scammers got about $300,000 out of a handful of Canadian women.  All the lessons in love are tough, but this one was expensive too.

RealDealDocs.com is a division of Practice Technologies, Inc. the creators of SmartRules.com, the first online practice guide for the national litigator and the national litigation practice.

To view the original article, click here.

Popularity: 6% [?]