Do you remember Ricardo Fernandez Barrueco? The so-called ‘entrepreneur’ who transitioned from working in a parking lot before Chavez’s rise to power in 1998 to becoming a billionaire with a net worth exceeding $1.6 billion by 2005? Well, he has fallen out of favor with the dictator and is reportedly imprisoned in Caracas’ DISIP dungeons. This unfortunate guy could potentially offer some business insights: within the same period that Google earned $191 million, he accumulated a personal fortune of $411 million in Venezuela, eventually creating an empire valued at $1.6 billion.
Back in the days when vcrisis.com was trending, Kenneth Rijock, a banking lawyer turned money launderer, then turned compliance officer and Financial Crime Consultant, provided me with a series of articles discussing politically exposed persons (PEP):
PEPwatch Venezuela: Beware Of Government-Controlled Private Corporations (Part 1), (Part 2), and (Part 3).
Rijock’s insights spotlighted several bolibourgeoises, specifically Fernandez Barrueco, Sarkis Beloune Arslanian, retired General Gustavo Adolfo Sanchez Gonzalez, Khaled Khalil Majzoub and his brother Majed Khalil Majzoub, who act as frontmen for chavista officials like Diosdado Cabello, Adan Chavez, and Jessy Chacon.
Some or all of the individuals mentioned are likely strategizing for a future without Chavez, growing increasingly anxious about Rijock’s writings on vcrisis.com and their reposting by Miguel at the Devil’s Excrement. One of them—or someone on their behalf—has been reaching out to me, insisting that I remove Rijock’s articles detailing their identities.
To keep a record for future reference, I will share their correspondence along with my responses.
On 8 Feb 2012, at 15:01, Rubin Ferzinger <[email protected]> wrote:
To Whom It May Concern,
Admin,
I want to raise a serious issue. This case has been resolved earlier. The link
«http://vcrisis.com/?content=letters/200602031125»
on your website contains content that damages my client’s reputation and affects his business and social life. This content violates the following laws:
According to Article 17 of the United Nations
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states:
1. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
Basis of Liability for Cyber Libel:
a) Distributor/Publisher Characterizations: One of the significant matters in cyber libel is whether online service providers, operators of bulletin boards, or website owners are common carriers, distributors, or publishers.
b) Publishers, such as newspapers and magazines, are responsible for everything they produce, post and broadcast. Their accountability derives from their ability to edit what they include or exclude from their publication. As the admin of this website, you have the privilege to remove the page promptly. Therefore, I request you to delete the page «http://vcrisis.com/?content=letters/200602031125» quickly; otherwise, we will take necessary legal actions against you. I trust you appreciate the seriousness of this matter and take appropriate steps.
Regards,
Rubin Ferzinger
Legal Consultants Full-Service Law
—– Original Message —–
From: Alek Boyd
Sent: 02/08/12 10:57 AM
To: Rubin Ferzinger
Subject: Re: Legal Notice (urgent action required)
Dear Mr. Ferzinger,
First, I do not appreciate legal threats.
Second, as a lawyer, you should know that the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights is an instrument protecting individuals from State actions.
Third, who are you, and, more importantly, who is your client?
Fourth, under what jurisdiction do you plan to “take legal action” against me should I decline your client’s requests?
Fifth, what “case has been solved earlier”?
If you could answer these questions, we might continue our discussion more civilly.
Cordially,
Alek Boyd
On 8 Feb 2012, at 21:33, Rubin Ferzinger wrote:
Mr. Boyd,
You’re inquiring about me? I am a lawyer, if you could read the email ID and laws I have provided for you to remove the article easily.
Now that you’ve mentioned “I do not appreciate legal threats,” let me clarify, Mr. Boyd, according to Article 17, the information in that article is defamatory.
Regarding your question “on what jurisdiction are you planning to take legal action against me,” it is because the article you posted is completely incorrect. All information in that article is fake and harmful to my client’s reputation, affecting his business and social life.
You should know that receiving a warning notice means you must comply as directed in the email; otherwise, your website might be shut down. No matter who you are or what power you hold, you will be sued, and you don’t know who you’re dealing with. This could be very costly for you, Mr. Boyd.
I’ve sent a reasonable request, yet you interpreted it as “a legal threat” despite it being a legal notice. You seem rather uninformed for someone in the position of website admin, aiming to earn money without consideration for how your articles impact anyone’s social and professional life.
Oh! It’s splendid, “this is how you earn money”?
“http://vcrisis.com/?content=letters/200602031125” remove this article from your website, otherwise I will take strict action against you. Mark my words.
Regards,
Rubin Ferzinger
—– Original Message —–
From: Alek Boyd
Sent: 02/09/12 04:30 AM
To: Rubin Ferzinger
Subject: Re: Legal Notice (urgent action required)
To Whomever it May Concern,
Threats of this nature will not yield any results.
Identify yourself, state who you are, where you are writing from, and who your client is.
Thank you.
Alek Boyd
On 27 Feb 2012, at 14:48, Rubin Ferzinger wrote:
Mr. Alek Boyd,
we do not disclose our client information.
The content posted on that article is defamatory, and we suggest removing the link «http://vcrisis.com/?content=letters/200602031125».
Otherwise, please provide proof regarding that article.
Regards,
Rubin Ferzinger
Lawyer
On 27 Feb 2012, at 18:24, Rubin Ferzinger wrote:
Mr. Alek Boyd,
we do not reveal our client’s information.
The content in this article is defamatory, and we suggest you eliminate this link «http://vcrisis.com/?content=letters/200602031125».
Otherwise, show proof regarding this article.
On 22 Mar 2012, at 16:03, Rubin Ferzinger wrote:
Mr. Alek Boyd,
we do not disclose client information.
The content posted in this article is defamatory, and we suggest removing the link «http://vcrisis.com/?content=letters/200602031125».
Otherwise, show proof concerning that article.
On 22 Mar 2012, at 16:14, Rubin Ferzinger wrote:
Mr. Alek Boyd,
we do not reveal our client information.
The content in this article is defamatory, and we suggest you remove the link «http://vcrisis.com/?content=letters/200602031125».
Otherwise, provide proof about that article.
If you think blocking my email will prevent you from getting in trouble, you’re foolish. There are plenty of ways to punish others—people like you.
Notice how the person behind this alters the address and name of the individual supposedly requesting the removal of information.
On 23 Mar 2012, at 21:20, Ken Rijock wrote:
Admin,
As required under Sections 512(c)(3) and 512(d)(3) of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. )512(c)(3) and 512(d)(3)), we are notifying you that:
The matter posted on your website is copied from our news website, “http://devilsexcrement.com/.” You didn’t even bother with any copyright legal documentation. The links to our content that has been copied are:
1. «http://vcrisis.com/?content=letters/200602031125»
2. «http://vcrisis.com/?content=letters/200602031132»
We request you to remove the aforementioned links.
DMCA Format
Name: Ken Rijock
Company Name: DevilSexcrement Media Group
Full legal name of the copyright holder: Ken Rijock
Contact email address: [email protected]
Authorized Copyright Owner: Ken Rijock
If you want any assurance regarding the holder and Owner of the copyright, my name is written in the link. I earnestly request you to remove the URLs mentioned above.
If you have any queries regarding this, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.
Regards,
Ken Rijock
Senior Editor/ Journalist
— End of messages —
All emails, regardless of whether they came from Ferzinger or Rijock, were sent from the same IP address:
Sender: 74.208.5.67, mailout-us.gmx.com, United States, Wayne, 40.0548 – 75.4083, AS8560 1&1 Internet AG.
Given there is a business and commercial lawyer in New York named Rubin Ferziger—note the surname difference—I sent an email asking if he was related to these demands, but, unfortunately, there was no response.
I reached out to Ken Rijock, with whom I have communicated since 2005-06, and to Miguel Octavio. Despite the claims made in the emails, neither of them is aware of any copyright infringement as alleged, nor have they been contacted directly by the individuals orchestrating this chavista online reputation management campaign.
Honestly, it’s somewhat amusing to be threatened by these characters. They seem utterly clueless about how the internet functions and which laws can be applied, leading me to believe that they are chavistas. In Venezuela, such matters are dealt with in a more straightforward way: a couple of thugs would show up, beat someone, kidnap them, or even kill them. The more sophisticated approach is to fabricate charges and let the chavista legal system do its thing. What’s truly hilarious is that these individuals genuinely think they can dictate terms elsewhere, just as they would in Venezuela, by impersonating others, misusing email addresses and blog names to intimidate someone and achieve their objectives.
While Fernandez Barrueco and the others may be proficient in looting a country and accumulating wealth, their understanding of the web is tragically out of date.