back to article Bloke fesses up: I forged judge's signature to strip stuff from Google search

It may have seemed like a good idea at the time – treating a judge's takedown order as a Photoshop template that could be modified as needed to demand that Google remove any unwanted information. But on Friday, Michael Arnstein, 40, of Kailua, Hawaii, pled guilty to conspiring to forge a US federal judge's signature to erase …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "...Google said it deals regularly with efforts to subvert its takedown process. "We have measures in place to safeguard the integrity of our search results against bad actors seeking to game the system with fraudulent court orders..."

    And it only takes three years to catch those bad actors.

    1. CrazyOldCatMan Silver badge

      And it only takes three years to catch those bad actors.

      So - only another 2.25 years of the Trump presidency then eh?

  2. DNTP

    When he reports to prison:

    "Hey, uh, look, I was supposed to start my sentence today, but they granted me a super early release thanks to my selfless community service of exposing how little effort it takes to subvert Google's takedown process.

    See, the judge's signature is on it and everything. Bye!"

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "Lawyers are often worse than the criminals."

    Often?

    1. Nick Kew

      John Gay summed it up nicely

      A fox may steal your hens, sir,

      A whore your health and pence, sir,

      Your daughter rob your chest, sir,

      Your wife may steal your rest, sir,

      A thief your goods and plate.

      But this is all but picking,

      With rest, pence, chest and chicken;

      It ever was decreed, sir,

      If lawyer's hand is fee'd, sir,

      He steals your whole estate.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Yes, often

      Sometimes you're defending someone like Martin Shkreli!

  4. Sgt_Oddball
    Holmes

    If only abit of photoshop working in all cases...

    Just think if I applied the same logic to certain other things... like cheques, payslips... the possibilities are endless.

    1. Florida1920

      Re: If only abit of photoshop working in all cases...

      Counterfeiting U.S. currency is allegedly working well for North Korea. The bills aren't used in the U.S., so less likelihood of discovery.

      http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/28/north-korea-may-have-resumed-counterfeiting-operation/

      There's a business model for you. Just don't spend the loot on nukes or ICBMs, okay?

      1. Voland's right hand Silver badge

        Re: If only abit of photoshop working in all cases...

        Counterfeiting U.S. currency is allegedly working well for North Korea.

        It did well for Saddam as well - it was one of his real weapons of mass destruction and real reasons why he got invaded. Food for thought... On both sides...

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: If only abit of photoshop working in all cases...

          It did well for Saddam as well - it was one of his real weapons of mass destruction and real reasons why he got invaded.

          Oh? I thought it was because he had the audacity to start selling oil in Euros, which was simultaneously undercutting the US ability to continue borrowing insane amounts of money and making him a tidy profit in the process. The US could not afford the rest of the Middle East to follow that idea so they manipulated WMD intelligence (with UK's help) to justify bombing the crap out of him, thus setting an example to anyone planning to do the same.

          That said, printing false dollars would indeed exacerbate the devaluation.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: If only abit of photoshop working in all cases...

        Counterfeiting U.S. currency is allegedly working well for North Korea. The bills aren't used in the U.S., so less likelihood of discovery.

        Also, US can't go around saying that there are billions in counterfeit notes circulating in the world, because no-one would then have confidence that the bills they hold themselves have any value.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: If only abit of photoshop working in all cases...

          Also, US can't go around saying that there are billions in counterfeit notes circulating in the world,

          It just choses and appropriate casus belli and reduces the country printing them into rubble.

          When I was working around Eastern Europe in the midst of the great post-fall-of-the-wall recession I had a couple of "lucky" jobs where I was officially located in Cyprus and paid in dollars (do not ask how - Cypriots have a form in offering such services). During those days I nearly learned Braille. The market was FLOODED with fakes printed in Iraq. We actually called them "Саддамки" (Saddam's handywork). The only thing to distinguish them from the buck proper was that the Braille on the early prints was missing and it was not very well done on the later versions. They started printing them after the first Gulf War and continued all the way until the second.

          From there on, you can make your own mind what was the real weapon of mass destruction by Mr Hussein.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Criminal observes crime is a shortcut to get what you want

    Wait until he figures out it is quicker to steal a million dollars than to earn it! Still that minor matter of spending time in federal prison when you're caught, of course...details details.

  6. Mark 85

    Poetic Justice?

    "Now Arnstein awaits sentencing in the same court he impersonated.".

    For some reason, this made me smile.

    1. Solarflare

      Re: Poetic Justice?

      "Ah, don't worry Your Honour*, I've saved you some time as you have already aquitted me of this crime. Your name is on this exoneration document right here, see?"

      *Yes, it wouldn't have a 'u' over the other side of the pond, but I can't bring myself to spell it wrong just for geographical effect.

  7. Winkypop Silver badge

    It all started as a kid

    Dear Teecha

    My sun is to I'll to come to skool today

    Muther

    1. Maryland, USA

      Re: It all started as a kid

      You mean,

      signed,

      my muther

  8. Spacedinvader
    Headmaster

    "$30,000 fuckin thousand"? $30,000,000 certainly is a different figure!

  9. Graham Cobb Silver badge

    Digital signatures

    So when will all documents signed by judges also be given a digital signature (with public keys available from the official court website)?

    There is no need to go all techy and stop judges really signing real documents, but every court should also issue a digital version signed by the judge's (or, at least, the court official's) electronic signature.

    Recipients could then trivially check for authenticity.

    1. JimC

      Re: Recipients could then trivially check for authenticity.

      But if banks and signatures on cheques is any guide at all, most wouldn't bother...

  10. Jtom

    Of course that is a real sapphire. Look at this certification of natural gemstone I have for it, signed by a noted gemologist.

    1. Mookster
      Joke

      "Of course that is a real sapphire. Look at this certification of natural gemstone I have for it, signed by a noted gemologist"

      Look, the signature is on the blockchain...

  11. Anonymous South African Coward Bronze badge

    mind just boggles

  12. G.Y.

    letter to authenticate letter

    At one place, a guy had a degree from a university they did not recognize. They asked for a letter from that university, to verify the degree was really a degree. I suggested they also ask for a 2nd-order letter to verify the letter, a 3rd-order letter to verify the 2nd-order letter, ...

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