April 25, 2012

On 25 April 2012, PIR received from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) a Warrant to Seize Property Subject to Forfeiture issued by the US Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on the same date. The warrant is based on affidavits by FBI agents and orders the seizure and forfeiture of three domain names in .ORG (444pay.org, freshcc.org, and vncards.org). Pursuant to the warrant, PIR transferred the .ORG registrations to a specified IP address.

The .ORG domains now resolve to a web site established by the DHS with a message that they have been the subject of seizure. The legal authority for the seizure is based on indictments pursuant to sections of the US Statutes, Criminal Code, that provide for seizure and forfeiture of property used in violation of a criminal statute, Title 18, U.S.C. § 1956(a)(2)(A), relating to transfer of money in connection with unlawful activities.