As far as that goes, you could reasonably argue that invoicing for a service
that was never and will never be provided does, in and of itself constitute
intent to commit fraud, particularly if the invoicing company refuses to
refund monies paid in error (which is NSI's policy, if I'm not mistaken).
More appropriate than the term "fraud" might be a charge that we have on the
books in Georgia: "Theft by Deception"
FWIW, my copy of the 1985 Edition of "Elements of Crimes and Basic
Procedures", published by the Prosecuting Attorney's Council of Georgia
(most recent I have on hand) includes the following verbiage, drawn from the
Official Code of Georgia, Annotated:
- CONSEQUENCES PRESUMED TO BE INTENDED (16-2-5)
A person [this would include a corporation, by the way - eal] of sound mind
and discretion is presumed to intend the natural and probable consequences
of his acts but the presumption may be rebutted.
In this case, I think it's reasonable to argue that sending invoices out
that threaten to cut off access to a domain name will "naturally and
probably" result in payment of the invoice by a some percentage of those
invoiced.
...and...
- THEFT BY DECEPTION (16-8-3)
(1) A person commits the offense of theft by deception when he obtains
property [including money - eal] by any deceitful means or artful practice
with the intention of depriving the owner of the property.
(2) A person deceives if he intentionally:
(a) Creates or confirms another's impression of an existing
fact or past event which is false and which the accused
knows or believes to be false;
(b) Fails to correct a false impression of an existing fact
or past event which he has previously created or
confirmed
.
.
.
(e) Promises performance of services which he does not intend
to perform or knows will not be performed
It's a misdemeanor if the value of the property does not exceed $500.
Otherwise, it's a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Gee, I love legal-speak :)
Regards,
Eric Longman
Atl-Connect Internet Services
+-------------------------------------------------------+
| Atl-Connect Internet Services http://www.atlcon.net |
| 3600 Dallas Hwy Ste 230-288 770 590-0888 |
| Marietta, GA 30064-1685 [EMAIL PROTECTED] |
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Dave Warren" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "William X. Walsh" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: "OpenSRS Discussion List" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, October 17, 2000 11:26 PM
Subject: Re: Re[4]: Network Sol Legal Probs
> Fraud cannot exist through inaction. Talk to an attorney.
>
> Fraud requires specific intent. If you have mail fraud cases that
> show otherwise, I'd sure like to see them.
How do you prove intent? I'm certainly not a lawyer, and I don't have the
spare money to go chat with one, but I am curious as to how you can prove
that they are "accidentally" sending out invoices, and that it's not an
intentional grab for money, and an attempt to discredit other registrars.
<sarcasm> btw. Anyone have any idea how I can accidentally fraud someone
and get off free if they happen to be dumb enough to pay? </sarcasm>
I dunno, I'm starting to see these from some of our clients now, and I am a
little bit tired of explaining it to our customers. *shrugs* That's life I
suppose.
