| Industry | Law |
|---|---|
| Predecessor | Steele | Hansmeier PLLP |
| Defunct | July 2013[1] |
| Fate | Dissolved following adverse legal rulings, principals disbarred |
| Successor | Anti-Piracy Law Group, Alpha Law Firm LLC, Class Justice LLC (as stated by onlookers) |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois , United States of America |
Number of locations | Primary locations understood to be staff or offices in Florida, and perhaps Minnesota |
Area served | United States generally |
Key people | John Steele, Paul Hansmeier, Paul Duffy |
| Revenue | Around US$1.93 million in 2012, according to alleged documents presented in court,[2]: p.13 and $15m total over lifetime until 2012 according to John Steele. |
| Website | (defunct: mirrored website on archive.org @ March 2012) |
Prenda Law, also known as Steele | Hansmeier PLLP and Anti-Piracy Law Group,[3] was a Chicago-based law firm that ostensibly operated by undertaking litigation against copyright infringement. However, it was later characterized by the United States District Court for Central California in a May 2013 ruling as a "porno-trolling collective"[4]: 2 whose business model "relie[d] on deception",[4]: 8 and which resembled most closely a conspiracy[4]: FOF.1 p.3 and racketeering enterprise,[4]: p.10 referring in the judgment to RICO, the U.S. Federal anti-racketeering law.[4]: p.10 [5] The firm ostensibly dissolved itself in July 2013 shortly after the adverse ruling[6] although onlookers described Alpha Law Firm LLC as its apparent replacement.[7] In 2014, the ABA Journal described the "Prenda Law saga" as having entered "legal folklore".[8]
In the 2013 civil ruling, Prenda Law and three named principals, John Steele, Paul Hansmeier, and Paul Duffy, were found to have undertaken vexatious litigation,[4]: FOF.5 p.4 identity theft,[4]: FOF.9 p.5 misrepresentation and calculated deception (including "fraudulent signature"),[4]: FOF.6 p.4, FOF.9–11 p.5, p.6–8 professional misconduct and to have shown moral turpitude.[4]: p.10 The principals were also deemed to have founded and been the de facto owners and officers of the shell company which plaintiff and their alleged "client" created to "give an appearance of legitimacy".[4]: FOF.1–2 p.3–4
The firm and its principals were fined; the matter was also referred to the United States Attorney for Central California (for criminal indictment consideration) and the IRS Criminal Investigation Division (for tax fraud consideration).[4]: p.10–11 A fourth attorney, Brett Gibbs, was also sanctioned, fined, and referred to a disciplinary committee by the court for false statements[4]: p.6–8 and his part in the subsequent cover-up,[4]: p.7 though described as their employee.[4]: FOF.7 p.5 (Gibbs' monetary sanctions were later vacated after turning whistleblower[9] as part of his appeal.)
Other Federal courts in various states later ruled in a similar manner against the firm and others linked to it,[10] including a ruling of fraud upon the court in a Minnesota court review of five closed cases[11] and "relentless willingness to lie" in an Illinois court.[12] Criminal prosecutor referrals also occurred or were suggested in other jurisdictions.[6][12]
In 2019, Steele and Hansmeier both pleaded guilty in Federal court to a range of criminal charges related to and including extortion and fraudulent conduct, with substantial sums of their criminal proceeds to be reimbursed. Steele received a reduced sentence of 5 years due to his cooperation and Hansmeier, who had not cooperated, was sentenced to 14 years.[13]
gibbssanctionsappeal2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).The word "enterprise" has a triple meaning here, actually. First, the standard meaning of a "business enterprise," which this kind of was. Second, the legal meaning of a RICO "enterprise," RICO being the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, often used against organized crime and which the judge mentioned in his order. Third, the [fictional from Star Trek] U.S.S. Enterprise.
benjones1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page)....Exhibit E shows that Prenda received income from 'Pirates' of $1,931,977.09 in 2012, and made 'Payments to Old Owners' of $1,343,806.78 or 69.6% of its total receipts. Considering other payments to or for Steele, Hansmeier and Duffy, the total distributed to them likely exceeded 80% of receipts, even though these distributions left Prenda with a 2012 loss of $487,791.20...
minnesota_v_does was invoked but never defined (see the help page).The Court also finds that Duffy, Hansmeier, and Steele exhibited a 'serious and studied disregard for the orderly process of justice' [...and...] These men have shown a relentless willingness to lie to the Court on paper and in person, despite being on notice that they were facing sanctions in this Court, being sanctioned by other courts, districts, and being referred to state and federal bars, one state Attorney General, the United States Attorney in at least two and the Internal Revenue Service.