by Traverse Legal, reviewed by Enrico Schaefer - September 24, 2014 - k. Internet Defamation Cases, l. Stopping Internet Defamation of Character
Note: The prosecuting attorney has dismissed all charges against Darren Meade as part of the ongoing saga related to Tracey Richter (updated July 17, 2015). No charges were filed against Ripoff Report or any of its owners or employees.
It is reported that Darren Meade is alleged to have published the harassing and defamatory accusations about State’s witnesses at the direction of Tracey Richter and Anna Richter, Tracey Richter’s mother, by posting them as ‘complaints’ on www.ripoffreport.com. It is suspected that Darren Meade had hoped to use these defamatory postings to collect money from those defamed by charging them and other customers for the removal of such slanderous postings on the website.
Below are some of the quotes taken from the Search Warrant Affidavit submitted by SAC County attorney to obtain evidentiary items that were in the possession of Anna Richter. It is believed that such information and evidence is now being used to file charges of conspiracy in connection with the 2011 murder trial of Tracey Richter, who was the ex-wife of one of Ripoff Report’s most vocal critics – Michael Roberts:
"The significance of … statement made to Darren Meade here cannot be understated, as it and other information discussed in this affidavit demonstrates that Ripoff Report and Darren Meade know the anonymous authors publishing add-on complaints and rebuttals to Darren Meade’s Ripoff Report complaints, including Ripoff Report Complaint No. 938843.”
“On September 9, 2012, Darren Meade published Ripoff Report Complaint No. 938843, which purports to be the results of his investigation into the corruption surrounding Tracey Richter's criminal prosecution and conviction, but which is nothing more than Darren Meade's and Ripoff Report’s efforts to harass and defame the State's witnesses in retaliation for their testimony against Tracey Richter.”
“Darren Meade published Ripoff Report Complaint No. 938843 as a "featured" Ripoff Report complaint, which is advertised conspicuously on each of Ripoff Report’s approximate 1.8 million complaint pages. Darren Meade’s own admissions that www.ripoffreport.com is viewed "a couple million times a day," since complaint No. 938843 was published and featured (September 9, 2012), it is has been viewed over 1.2 BILLION times.”
“The changes made by Ripoff Report administrators to the duplicated article's sub-heading / title and URL serve no purpose except to increase the damage done to Michael Roberts. The extra emphasis on Michael Roberts' personal name and business name in both the sub-heading / title and more conspicuously, in the URL, is clearly an attempt by Ripoff Report to use generally accepted "Search Engine Optimization" techniques in order to persuade Google and other search engines to elevate this Ripoff Report complaint in search results for Michael Roberts' name.”
“Darren Meade also testified that he and Adam Zuckerman hired a number of people to dig up and publish defamatory information about Dr. Scott Connelly and another individual adverse to their criminal organization, with the intent to "destroy [their businesses and reputations] and make it so [they] were unable to have gainful employment."
As a founding partner of Traverse Legal, PLC, he has more than thirty years of experience as an attorney for both established companies and emerging start-ups. His extensive experience includes navigating technology law matters and complex litigation throughout the United States.
This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by attorney Enrico Schaefer, who has more than 20 years of legal experience as a practicing Business, IP, and Technology Law litigation attorney.
