obsidian finance

Crystal Cox Has a History of Seeking Payoffs in Exchange For Retraction

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Extortionist Crystal Cox got a favorable ruling yesterday in her appeal of a $2.5 million judgment against her by Obsidian Finance.  The appeals court’s ruling can be found here, and the bottom line is that the case has been kicked back for a new trial.

This does not mean, however, that what Crystal Cox does is acceptable. It just means that she gets a new shot at arguing her case in front of a jury. What does she do that is objectionable?

In this case involving Kevin Padrick and Obsidian Finance, Padrick was appointed as the trustee for the Summit Accommodators bankruptcy. It was then that Cox began her defamation of Padrick and Obsidian. When asked to remove the false materials from her websites, Cox told Padrick and Obsidian that if they paid her $2,500 per month, she would provide them with reputation management services.  Normal people recognize that as extortion. In the ruling published yesterday, the court said:

Read moreCrystal Cox Has a History of Seeking Payoffs in Exchange For Retraction

mArc RaNdaZza tAkeS bACk His NAmE

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First Amendment lawyer Marc Randazza is amazing. He is truly a “First Amendment Badass.”  Last year, he had an unfortunate incident occur, which proves that no good deed goes unpunished. Marc Randazza briefly agreed to represent “investigative blogger” Crystal Cox in an appeal of the lawsuit against her for defamation of Kevin Padrick and Obsidian Finance.

The problem was that the judge declared that Crystal Cox is not a journalist. First amendment lawyers worried about the effects that decision might have on other bloggers, who might be journalists. Crystal Cox is not a journalist, but is an extortionist. Still, Marc worried about whether this decision could have unintended consequences.

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Stopping Crystal Cox’s Harassment and Extortion

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Last week Marc Randazza, his wife Jennifer, and his daughter Natalia filed suit against “investigative blogger” Crystal Cox in United States District Court in Nevada. The suit is a treasure trove of tales about a nutty blogger who fancies herself an investigator and protector of civil rights.

The backstory has been covered here before. Crystal gained her nutty notoriety because of her attacks on Kevin Padrick and Obsidian Finance. In steps Marc Randazza, noted First Amendment lawyer, who considered representing Cox in that case. After that went south, Crystal Cox started buying domain names which included the names of Randazza, his wife, and their three-year-old daughter. She  offered Randazza “reputation management services,” whereby she would refrain from posting defamatory things about him on her websites if Randazza paid her enough. That, my friends, is extortion.

The complaint summarizes:

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Crystal Cox: Still an Extortionist

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Last week, an arbitration panel issued a decision in favor of Marc Randazza and Randazza legal group in a dispute with “investigative blogger” Crystal Cox. You may recall that earlier this year, Crystal Cox was up to her old tricks of defaming people on the internet, and offering them “reputation management services,” whereby for a nice sum of money she would remove the negative things she wrote about those individuals.

Cox went after Marc Randazza after becoming angry with him over his potential representation of her in another case involving extortion. The original case was noteworthy, not so much because it demonstrated Cox’s fondness for attempting to destroy reputations and then offering to repair those reputations for a large sum of money, but because the judge ruled that Crystal Cox is not a journalist. (This is not to be confused with “bloggers are not journalists,” which some people incorrectly reported after a key decision in the case. The decision was only that blogger Crystal Cox is not a journalist.)

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Crystal Cox, Extortionist? You Decide.

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For the last several days, a variety of bloggers and news outlets have been talking about Crystal Cox and her attempted shakedown of people she has smeared on the internet. If you want the whole sordid story, read this engaging summary of the antics of “altruistic investigative blogger” Crystal Cox.

Poor Crystal Cox has a problem. She used the internet to smear people she perceived as doing wrong. (I have yet to find any actual evidence of wrongdoing, but apparently Crystal thinks if she yells long enough and loud enough, someone will believe her.) Now the internet is fighting back, and shining a light on her shenanigans, and Crystal is none too happy about it.

Read moreCrystal Cox, Extortionist? You Decide.

“Investigative Journalist” Crystal Cox Attacks Attorney Kevin D. Padrick

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Attorney Kevin D. Padrick
Attorney Kevin Padrick

I am no stranger to defamation lawsuits for writings on a blog. I have been threatened multiple times for writing my opinions and the facts as I know them about various companies. I have even been wrongly sued, with a judge dismissing me from the case, but not until after substantial legal fees were incurred to defend my good name.

So when it comes to allegations of defamation launched against bloggers, I take the matters seriously. Crystal Cox bills herself as an “investigative journalist,” but has done a whole lot of things that don’t have anything to do with investigation or journalism.

Read more“Investigative Journalist” Crystal Cox Attacks Attorney Kevin D. Padrick