Shawn Hogan

This article is about the American businessman. For the Canadian singer-songwriter, see Sean Hogan.

Shawn D. Hogan (born September 1, 1975) is the founder and chief executive officer of Digital Point Solutions, a San Diego–based business software provider. He became well known when the article "Shawn Hogan, Hero" appeared in the August 2006 edition of the magazine Wired,[1] detailing his firm stand against a Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) lawsuit.

Accused of downloading the motion picture, Meet the Fockers, via the BitTorrent network, he received a call in November 2005 from an MPAA lawyer explaining that he was being sued, and that the MPAA would settle for $2,500.

Hogan maintains his innocence, pointing out that he owns a legitimate copy of the DVD. The case is unusual in that Hogan, as a millionaire, has been willing to risk the substantial legal fees on this point of principle. As he told Wired magazine, "They're completely abusing the system... I would spend well into the millions on this."

However, in August 2007, Hogan quietly settled with Universal, and S.D. Cal. case no. CV 06-00545 was dismissed.

In August 2008, eBay filed suit against Hogan, Brian Dunning and his brother Todd Dunning accusing them of defrauding eBay and eBay affiliates in a cookie stuffing scheme.[2] Hogan was paid over $28 million in affiliate commissions by eBay.[3] On 24 June 2010, based on the same allegations and following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a grand jury indicted Hogan on charges of wire fraud and criminal forfeiture.[4] as of 2012 Hogan was being prosecuted,[5] and is free on $100,000 bond.[6]

On May 2, 2014, Hogan was sentenced to five months in a Federal prison, a $25,000 fine and three years probation.[7] Brian Dunning was sentenced to fifteen months in prison and a $100 fine.[8]

  1. ^ "Shawn Hogan, Hero". Wired. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
  2. ^ "eBay Inc. v. Digital Point Solutions, Inc. et al". dockets.justia.com. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
  3. ^ "How eBay Worked with the FBI to Put Its Top Affiliate Marketers in Prison". Business Insider.
  4. ^ Stevens, Kellie (29 June 2010). "Affiliates Indicted For Cookie Stuffing". ReveNews.com. Archived from the original on 2010-12-11. Retrieved 2010-12-13.
  5. ^ "N.D. Cal. Criminal Case no. 10-0495 Indictment" (PDF). United States District Court for the Northern District of California. 24 June 2010.
  6. ^ "Order Setting Conditions of Release". United States District Court for the Northern District of California. 22 July 2010.
  7. ^ "Cookie Stuffing: Fraudulent Exploitation of Affiliate Marketing". clickticker.com. ClickTicker, Ltd. n.d. Archived from the original on July 7, 2018. Retrieved July 20, 2017.
  8. ^ "Case5:10-cr-00494-EJD Document77" (PDF). courtlistener.com. n.d. Retrieved Jan 21, 2018.