The story of Profile Defenders, Richart Ruddie, and their illicit Lawsuit Removal scheme using bogus lawsuits with fake defendants was uncovered through the Baltimore Circuit Court Case of Mitul R. Patel v. Mathew Chan (misspelled in court documents).
The story actually begins with the media & press coverage of Patel v. Chan but the story abruptly turns upon the revelation by Suwanee Georgia Dentist Mitul R. Patel (through his court documents) that he hired Profile Defenders and Richart Ruddie for unspecified “reputation management services.” My supporters and I have inferred that this unspecified “reputation management service” included a shady system to file secretive lawsuits against fake defendants, defrauding courts and judges, to obtain supposed “consent” court orders to quietly remove and delist/deindex negative and unwanted content from consumer review websites and search engines. The story continues to unfold so check back for updates.
Most recent articles listed first. (This page will be periodically updated as the story unfolds and reported.)
Public Citizen: Consumer Law & Policy (June 23, 2017)
Fake Litigation 2.0: Defrauding an Arizona Court to Sanitize Megan Welter’s Reputation
Washington Post: Volokh Conspiracy (May 17, 2017)
More apparently fake-defendant libel lawsuits aimed at vanishing material from Google?
Techdirt (May 17, 2017)
Paul Levy Hoping To Wake Up Maryland Courts To The Numerous Fraudulent Libel Lawsuits Filed There
Techdirt (May 15, 2017)
Judge Refuses To Fix His Rubber-Stamping Of A Fraudulently-Requested Court Order
Public Citizen: Consumer Law & Policy (May 12, 2017)
Multiple Fake Consent Orders in Baltimore – Will Judges Remedy Their Own Prior Restraints Procured by Fraud?
Techdirt (March 21, 2017)
Filing Bogus Lawsuits As Part Of A ‘Reputation Management’ Strategy Costs Firm $71,000
Washington Post: Volokh Conspiracy (March 15, 2017)
Apparently-fake-defendant libel lawsuit watch: Richart Ruddie & SEO Profile Defender Network LLC paying $71,000 to settle claim
Public Citizen: Consumer Law & Policy (March 14, 2017)
Richart Ruddie Settles anti-SLAPP Claims, Makes Restitution; but the Guilty Companies Remain Unpunished
Techdirt (November 28, 2016)
Paul Levy Discovers Head Of Reputation Management Company Signed Off On Forged/Fraudulent Court Docs
Washington Post: Volokh Conspiracy (November 22, 2016)
More on lawsuits against seemingly fake defendants, aimed at hiding online criticism
Public Citizen: Consumer Law & Policy (November 22, 2016)
Richart Ruddie Companies Sent Forged Papers to Rhode Island Federal Court
Techdirt (November 21, 2016)
Federal Judge Now Taking A Closer Look At Bogus Libel Lawsuits Filed By Unscrupulous Reputation Management Companies
Providence Journal (November 20, 2016)
R.I., the worldwide web and claims of a fake lawsuit
Public Citizen: Media Advisory (November 15, 2016)
Blogger Seeks to Intervene in Phony Lawsuit That Aims to Stifle Online Criticisms
International Business Times (October 28, 2016)
Internet companies are being manipulated with bogus lawsuits to delete ’embarrassing’ content
Techdirt (October 26, 2016)
Pissed Consumer Sues Reputation Management Firms Over Their Bogus Lawsuit/Fake Defendant/Takedown Scams
Techdirt (October 26, 2016)
With Interest In Profile Defenders’ Questionable Lawsuits Rising, The Lawsuits Start Falling
Fortune (October 25, 2016)
Scheme to Delete Google Results Is Exposed
Washington Post: Volokh Conspiracy (October 25, 2016)
Another of the suspicious missing-defendant cases goes away
Washington Post: Volokh Conspiracy (October 24, 2016)
Court vacates one of the Profile Defenders libel takedown orders
Techdirt (October 18, 2016)
Reputation Management Company Linked To Bogus Libel Lawsuits Now Hyping Its Anti-Cyberbullying Skills
Public Citizen: Consumer Law & Policy (October 13, 2016)
Profile Defenders Defends Its Fraudulent Techniques
ABA Journal (October 13, 2016)
Are lawsuits using fake defendants to get material removed from websites?
BoingBoing (October 11, 2016)
When “reputation management” becomes perjury, forgery and fraud against America’s federal courts
Techdirt (October 11, 2016)
More Details Uncovered On Bogus Defamation Lawsuits Being Used To Delist Negative Reviews
Softpedia News (October 11, 2016)
People Sue Nonexistent Individuals to Trick Google into Censoring Search Results
Motherboard (October 10, 2016)
Want to Remove a Google Result? File a Trumped-Up Lawsuit
The Verge (October 10, 2016)
Someone is pulling pages off Google with bogus defamation claims
Washington Post: Volokh Conspiracy (October 10, 2016)
A tip of the hat to Matthew Chan, whose call helped us uncover the many suspicious Internet takedown cases
Public Citizen: Consumer Law & Policy (October 10, 2016)
Profile Defenders and Richart Ruddie: The Common Link Between Two Phony Defamation Suits
Washington Post: Volokh Conspiracy (October 10, 2016)
Dozens of suspicious court cases, with missing defendants, aim at getting web pages taken down or deindexed
Public Citizen: Consumer Law & Policy (October 10, 2016)
Dozens of suspicious court cases, with missing defendants, aim at getting web pages taken down or deindexed
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