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"BETHLEHEM, Penn. -Amateur gay content producer Sebastian Sloane Productions was the target of the second reported 18 U.S.C. §2257 investigation this morning, according to owner JJ Ruch. "
It appears the DOJ is going to be going after online content producers, not just the big LA based producers.
Buckle up, it's going to be a bumpy ride!
I hope it goes well for them and thanks for letting us know
keep us posted :high:
This shouldnt be scary if you have the required proof. Not saying anyone doesnt but at the end of the day we all keep our sites legal anyway.
This is why I try to only use Ounique content. If I need a license immediately its right there for immediate download.
Just to see I checked the other content providers I buy from and you have to call them if you need to re-download the models id's if you can't find them.
fuck that.
Interesting date. And a rather large "shake down". Just in time for the November Elections.Quote:
“They told me [the FBI is] conducting an investigation of all producers who produce any kind of pornographic material and they plan to finish this by December....
Every set we purchase comes with 2257 docs, if it doesnt, we dont buy the content.Quote:
Originally Posted by Marc
We have a filing cabinet filled with docs for over 10 years of content plus digitized versions of the docs also.
Regards,
Lee
Quote:
Originally Posted by cheapdick
I agree the elections are pushing Gonzales, and I am sure it will grow.
So are supposed to open the door when the FBI knocks or not?
jk tb
Ok, so we only heard of 2 so far and they are supposed to finish up by December.....hmmmm...trying to do that math x one regional 16 units....
I was pretty shocked when I heard this news. I just wasn't expecting them to go after such a small operation so soon.
JJ Ruch, owner of Sebastian Sloane Productions, has shared some additional insight into today's events on the following thread on GayWebmasters.com:
http://gaywebmasters.com/forums/viewthread/358/
It sounds like they are going after producers of teen and twink content, i beleive the producer that got audited first was primarily a teen content producer.
Interesting stuff for sure, will be interesting to see who and where gets hit next.
Regards,
Lee
Well, according to JJ, we're all gonna get hit before December. I question if that's accurate, but still a pretty scary thought.
Also of interest, when I asked him about the "machine" they were using to check ID's, he said it was small like a cell phone, and they manually entered the info into it. Pretty Star Trek!
Id probably say they are aiming to audit all primary producers before December, id say that was a realistic time-frame.
Regards,
Lee
It will also be interesting to see what happens in relation to any of these tradeshows primary producers attend especially if they are on the to be audited list at the same time.
Wasnt there a part of the new regulations that required someone to be at the business location 365 days of the year during normal business hours?
Not quite seeing how some of these 1-man primary producers are going to manage attending a tradeshow and being on-call should the FBI decide they want to audit their records.
Regards,
Lee
I think that was in the new regs only. And if you are covered by FSC, you aren't subject to the new regulations... yet. As far as I know, they are only enforcing the old 2257 regulations.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lee
the old regs did require you to be available during business hours.
I'm still confused as to the distinction between a criminal investigation and a compliance audit. Since this is enforced by the US Dept of Justice, and not a regulatory agency like the SEC or the FCC, I've also always wondered what other things the DOJ does in the form of regular industry audits.
Steve
Can I request as a matter of public record the audit results of Sebastian Sloane Productions?
I can request the audit the Securities and Exchanges Commission has on file for brokerage firms like Fidelity or Janus Funds. What is the difference?
Steve
i think the difference is that they don't go into the Janus Funds' kitchen cabinets.
haha....
maybe they were on a roll looking for $90,000 cash in the freezer.
Steve
in the freezer?
guess that's why in movies they always call it cold cash :D
what did they look for anyways?
did they go through his entire inventory of content, or only go through specific models and movie scenes?
I think I read that he said their primary interest was in the younger-looking models, but they apparently went through everything, including his tapes and cameras and all.
uhm - a little off topic but: my "porn raid" a year ago went similar. The only difference is that we since then have a new door...
... Sad to see this happen in the "Land of the Free"...
What's the deal with looking through all his content, including stuff still on the camera? This was a 2257 inspection, not a raid. I thought they were only there to verify the records, not search for child porn. The extent of them looking at content should have been limited to them verifing the ID's matched the people featured in the content.
This is quite an interesting thread. Like the quote above, several interesting comments have been made. What I think surprises many is that a "small" independent gay producer became the second target.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dick Hunter
Not all webmasters read this great forum and who knows how many other independents have been "audited" this week, not sending out a press release to the likes of AVN.
One of his sites ( bestofboysandmen . com/sponsors.htm ) lists many of his numerous "boy" variation URLS, like "gayforpayboys". In my personal opinion, he made himself a major target.
True enough, im sure there must have been more than 2 audits done, i can hardly see the FBI just having a group of 5 agents to audit the entire country LOLQuote:
Originally Posted by tyrain
I wouldnt be suprised if there have been audits carried out every day but these are the only 2 companies who thought to get some press from the audits.
Regards,
Lee
Haha nah they only do that to Senators LMAOQuote:
Originally Posted by desslock
Regards,
Lee
Actually, according to the woman JJ talked to on the phone, there are 16 teams of four agents. Apparently they plan on visiting every primary producer they've been able to dig up, at some point before December.Quote:
Originally Posted by Lee
oh fuck
i sure hope y'all have all proper documentations the FBI want to see *fingersCrossed*
what a mess
not that faced with 4 FBI agents "asking" you would want to day no, but did they have the authrity to effectivly seach this producers home ? dont they need a search warrent for that?
/me grabs his # and waits in line for his audit
In this political climate, how hard do you think it is for the FBI to get a search warrant? Pretty easy, I'm guessing. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by collegeboyslive
Well that's my question - is it an audit, or a criminal investigation?
My hairdresser is subject to inspections by the Texas Board of Cosmetology. They don't need warrants. They are making sure they are following health laws, etc.
In other words, conducting an criminal investigation for six months on child porn is one thing, but a continuous, non ending search for something of an entire industry seems like its is something else. The fast food industry could potentially hire someone underage to serve ice cream cones. Yes, that would be child labor, which is a federal crime. And obviously we don't want to see any forced child labor....
But that is not a continuous, comprehensive audit proceedure enforced by the US Dept of Justice of every fast food business that uses the notion of "guilty until proven innocent" as its stepping stone.
By the way, I think there is a weird effect of this: the federal government is legitimizing the porn business, not at all the goal of the legislators who wrote 2257. Because we now have two companies who have had the US Dept of Justice in their offices, undergone a complete inspection, and pronounced legal.
Steve
Quote:
Originally Posted by desslock
Not exactly Steve
The two that were searched claimed they were legal.
The DOJ/FBI has every right to come in, check everything out and WAIT to make a report and file charges at a later date.
It's very likely they are gathering evidence and at some point in the future, before the elections, the papers will read "225 porn producers arrested today in nationwide sting on internet pornography by the Bush administration"
Remember this has only just begun
Well, let me play that down. It's just a thought that occured to me.
I'm not a fan of 2257, and I think of many examples of federal criminal law is superfluous, high handed, court clogging, potentially damaging to civil rights and
expensive. (others would be the federal carjacking law, the federal stalking law, all drug laws, "insider trading" laws, the mandatory sentencing, etc.)
But still, the sword cuts both ways, companies that undergo successful inspections would logically benefit from that - the governement is in effect giving a stamp of approval on the business. Certainly an interesting spin....
Steve
I agreeQuote:
Originally Posted by desslock
Also consider those true criminals they might uncover. That will be great for our industry, and the criminals intended vicitms. A good healthy cull of our industry is what we need, but not in the guise of a law to protect children via organized paperwork. he he
or more like a stamp of "we couldnt get you THIS time.. but we will be back!"Quote:
But still, the sword cuts both ways, companies that undergo successful inspections would logically benefit from that - the governement is in effect giving a stamp of approval on the business. Certainly an interesting spin...
On the GayWebmasters.com thread, JJ mentioned that they did have a search warrant, and that his home is his official bussiness address, which was listed for the COR.Quote:
Originally Posted by collegeboyslive