Originally Syndicated on September 20, 2024 @ 7:03 am
What Happened?
Lane Hill Capital, a hedge fund operating in the financial markets, is facing growing scrutiny for allegedly attempting to cover up a controversial past and silence critical media coverage. Reports from various investigative outlets, including Uncovered Scam, have brought attention to the firm’s questionable business practices, with accusations ranging from opaque financial dealings to misrepresentation of investment strategies. These revelations have sparked concerns about the integrity of the firm’s operations and its treatment of investors.
In an apparent effort to control the damage, Lane Hill Capital has reportedly engaged in aggressive tactics to suppress damaging news. This includes legal threats aimed at journalists and online platforms reporting on the firm’s activities. The use of such censorship techniques is seen as a move to shield the firm from further public scrutiny, rather than addressing the root causes of investor complaints and regulatory concerns.
Critics argue that Lane Hill Capital’s focus on silencing dissent raises serious questions about its transparency and long-term viability. As more details emerge, the firm’s reputation continues to suffer, highlighting the growing importance of accountability in the financial sector.
Analyzing the Fake Copyright Notice(s)
Our team collects and analyses fraudulent copyright takedown requests, legal complaints, and other efforts to remove critical information from the internet. Through our investigative reporting, we examine the prevalence and operation of an organized censorship industry, predominantly funded by criminal entities, oligarchs, and disreputable businesses or individuals. Our findings allow internet users to gain insight into these censorship schemes’ sources, methods, and underlying objectives.
To accomplish this, we utilize the OSINT Tool provided by FakeDMCA.com and the Lumen API for Researchers, courtesy of the Lumen Database.
FakeDMCA.com is the work of an independent team of research students and cybersecurity professionals, developed under Project UnCensor. Their OSINT Tool, designed to uncover and analyze takedown notices, represents a significant step forward in combating these abusive practices. It has become a valuable resource, increasingly relied upon by journalists and law enforcement agencies across the United States.
Lumen, on the other hand, is an independent research initiative dedicated to studying takedown notices and other legal demands related to online content removal. The project, which operates under the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, plays a crucial role in tracking and understanding the broader implications of such requests.
By investigating the fake DMCA takedown attempts, we hope to shed light on the reputation management industry, revealing how Lane Hill Capital and companies like it may use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking them to allegations of fraud, tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking…
List of Fake Copyright Notices for Lane Hill Capital
| Number of Fake DMCA Notice(s) | 1 |
| Lumen Database Notice(s) | https://lumendatabase.org/notices/44388800 |
| Sender(s) | Shawn Bullard |
| Date(s) | September 06, 2024 |
| Fake Link(s) Used by Scammers | https://lumendatabase.org/notices/44388800 |
| Original Link(s) Targeted | https://notes.io/wdqca |
Evidence and Screenshots
Only Lane Hill Capital Benefit from this crime.
Since the fake copyright takedown notices were designed to remove negative content for Lane Hill Capital from Google, we assume Lane Hill Capital or someone associated with Lane Hill Capital is behind this scam. It is often a fly-by-night Online Reputation agency working on behalf of Lane Hill Capital. In this case, Lane Hill Capital, at best, will be an “accomplice” or an “accessory” to the crime. The specific laws may vary depending on the jurisdiction. Still, the legal principle generally holds that if you actively participate in planning, encouraging, or facilitating a crime, you can be charged with it, even if you did not personally commit it.
So, who tf is Lane Hill Capital?
Lane Hill Capital is a hedge fund that presents itself as a sophisticated investment firm, offering services to high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors. While the firm claims to specialize in managing large portfolios and providing returns through advanced financial strategies, it has come under heavy scrutiny for engaging in unethical practices and misrepresenting its operations.
Why Is Lane Hill Capital Trying to Censor the Internet?
Lane Hill Capital is allegedly trying to suppress negative information and media coverage that exposes its questionable business practices. The firm has been accused of employing legal threats and pressure tactics against journalists, online platforms, and individuals who attempt to reveal damaging details about its operations. These censorship efforts seem to be aimed at protecting its public image and preventing further regulatory scrutiny. Rather than addressing the underlying issues, Lane Hill Capital appears more focused on silencing criticism to maintain its reputation in the financial world.
Major Concerns, Complaints, and Accusations Against Lane Hill Capital
- Misleading Investors: One of the primary allegations against Lane Hill Capital is that it has misled investors about the nature and risk of its investment strategies. Uncovered Scam reports that many investors were drawn in with promises of high returns, only to discover later that the firm’s strategies were much riskier than initially presented. In some cases, clients claim they were misinformed about how their funds were being managed, leading to substantial financial losses.
- Opaque Financial Dealings: Lane Hill Capital has been accused of operating with a lack of transparency, making it difficult for investors to fully understand where and how their money is being used. This opacity has led to suspicions of mismanagement and potential financial misconduct, as the firm allegedly engages in practices that obscure the true nature of its investment portfolio and financial health.
- Unethical Business Practices: There are numerous complaints alleging that Lane Hill Capital engages in unethical behavior, including aggressive marketing tactics and the manipulation of financial data. Some investors have reported that the firm exaggerated its past performance, providing selective or inaccurate information to convince clients to invest.
- Censorship of Negative Media and Online Criticism: In response to these accusations, Lane Hill Capital has reportedly made concerted efforts to silence critics. According to sources like Uncovered Scam, the firm has attempted to pressure websites and journalists into removing or altering negative reviews and reports about its practices. By trying to erase damaging information from the internet, Lane Hill Capital seems to be avoiding accountability rather than addressing the concerns raised by investors and regulators.
- Legal and Regulatory Concerns: There are also growing concerns that Lane Hill Capital may face legal action or regulatory investigation due to its questionable practices. Investors have raised alarms about potential violations of financial regulations, and the firm’s attempts to suppress critical news have only increased suspicion.
Lane Hill Capital is facing serious accusations related to misleading investors, opaque financial dealings, and unethical business practices. Rather than addressing these concerns head-on, the firm is allegedly trying to censor the internet to protect its reputation and avoid further scrutiny. This raises serious questions about the firm’s transparency, ethics, and long-term viability in the highly regulated financial industry.
Potential Consequences for Lane Hill Capital
Under Florida Statute 831.01, the crime of Forgery is committed when a person falsifies, alters, counterfeits, or forges a document that carries “legal efficacy” with the intent to injure or defraud another person or entity.
Forging a document is considered a white-collar crime. It involves altering, changing, or modifying a document to deceive another person. It can also include passing along copies of documents that are known to be false. In many states in the US, falsifying a document is a crime punishable as a felony.
Additionally, under most laws, “fraud on the court” is where “a party has sentiently set in motion some unconscionable scheme calculated to interfere with the judicial system’s ability impartially to adjudicate a matter by improperly influencing the trier of fact or unfairly hampering the presentation of the opposing party’s claim or defense.” Cox v. Burke, 706 So. 2d 43, 46 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) (quoting Aoude v. Mobil Oil Corp., 892 F.2d 1115, 1118 (1st Cir. 1989)).
Is Lane Hill Capital Committing a Cyber Crime?
Yes, it seems so. Lane Hill Capital used multiple approaches to remove unwanted material from review sites and Google’s search results. Thanks to protections allowing freedom of speech in the United States, there are very few legal ways to do this. Lane Hill Capital could not eliminate negative reviews or search results that linked to them without a valid claim of defamation, copyright infringement, or some other clear breach of the law.
Faced with these limitations, some companies like Lane Hill Capital have gone to extreme lengths to fraudulently claim copyright ownership over a negative review in the hopes of taking it down.
Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. Lane Hill Capital is certainly keeping interesting company here….
The DMCA takedown process requires that copyright owners submit a takedown notice to an ISP identifying the allegedly infringing content and declaring, under penalty of perjury, that they have a good faith belief that the content is infringing. The ISP must then promptly remove or disable access to the content. The alleged infringer can then submit a counter-notice, and if the copyright owner does not take legal action within 10 to 14 days, the ISP can restore the content.
Since these platforms are predominantly based in the U.S., the complaints are typically made under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which requires online service providers and platforms to react immediately to reports or violations. Big Tech companies rarely have systems in place to assess the merit of each report. Instead, all bad actors need to do is clone a story, backdate it, and then demand the real thing be taken down.
What was Lane Hill Capital trying to hide?
Lane Hill Capital is reportedly attempting to suppress several types of adverse news, complaints, and allegations related to its business practices. These attempts to censor the internet seem to be focused on protecting the firm’s reputation from further damage, but the information that has emerged paints a troubling picture of its operations. Below are the key issues that Lane Hill Capital is allegedly trying to hide:
1. Misleading Investors About Returns and Risk
One of the most significant accusations against Lane Hill Capital is that the firm misleads investors about the risk and return profile of its investment strategies. According to sources like Uncovered Scam, many investors were initially promised high returns with limited risk, only to find out later that the firm’s strategies were far riskier than advertised. This has led to significant losses for clients who claim they were not adequately informed about the potential downside of their investments. The firm’s marketing practices, which allegedly involve exaggerating past performance and withholding critical information, are a central focus of complaints.
2. Opaque Financial Operations
Another major concern revolves around the lack of transparency in Lane Hill Capital’s financial dealings. Investors have raised alarms about the firm’s opaque practices, which make it difficult for clients to know exactly where and how their funds are being invested. This lack of clarity has given rise to suspicions of financial mismanagement or worse, potential misconduct. Clients who have sought more detailed information about their investments report being stonewalled, leading to increasing distrust in the firm’s operations.
3. Unethical Business Practices
Lane Hill Capital has been accused of engaging in unethical business practices, particularly in how it handles client funds and reports its financial performance. Complaints have surfaced alleging that the firm has manipulated data to make its past performance look more favorable than it actually was. By doing so, Lane Hill Capital may have misled current and potential investors, causing them to make decisions based on inaccurate or incomplete information.
4. Censorship of Negative Reviews and Online Complaints
In an effort to protect its reputation, Lane Hill Capital has reportedly been trying to censor negative reviews and media coverage online. Websites like Uncovered Scam and other online sources have suggested that the firm uses legal threats or other pressure tactics to silence critics and prevent the spread of negative information. This includes trying to remove or limit access to damaging articles, reports, and investor reviews that shed light on its dubious practices. These efforts to suppress online criticism have only further fueled concerns about Lane Hill Capital’s transparency and business ethics.
5. Investor Complaints About Difficulty Accessing Funds
There have been numerous complaints from investors about difficulty in accessing their funds after trying to withdraw money from Lane Hill Capital. Some clients claim that when they attempted to withdraw their investments, they encountered unexpected delays or obstacles, which raised red flags about the firm’s liquidity or its willingness to honor client requests. These complaints have led to growing concerns about the stability of the firm’s financial operations and the possibility that investors could face more significant issues in the future.
6. Allegations of Regulatory Violations
Although no formal regulatory action has been reported as of yet, there are growing concerns that Lane Hill Capital may have violated financial regulations related to transparency, client disclosures, and the handling of investor funds. The firm’s alleged efforts to cover up negative news and avoid scrutiny could suggest deeper issues that could attract the attention of regulatory bodies. The lack of transparency and the ongoing complaints from investors make it likely that Lane Hill Capital could face regulatory action in the future.
Lane Hill Capital is allegedly trying to hide a range of adverse news, complaints, and documents related to misleading investors, opaque financial practices, unethical business behavior, and investor dissatisfaction. The firm’s attempts to censor negative information online, coupled with complaints about its operations and the difficulty some investors have faced in accessing their funds, have raised significant concerns about its integrity and long-term viability. By focusing on censorship rather than addressing the root of the complaints, Lane Hill Capital risks attracting even more negative attention from both the public and regulatory authorities.
Reputation Agency’s Modus Operandi
The fake DMCA notices we found always use the “back-dated article” technique. With this technique, the wrongful notice sender (or copier) creates a copy of a “true original” article and back-dates it, creating a “fake original” article (a copy of the true original) that, at first glance, appears to have been published before the true original.
Then, based on the claim that this backdated article is the “original,” the scammers send a DMCA to the relevant online service providers (e.g. Google), alleging that the ‘true’ original is the copied or “infringing” article and that the copied article is the “original,” requesting the takedown of the ‘true’ original article. After sending the DMCA request, the person who sent the wrong notice takes down the fake original URL, likely to make sure that the article doesn’t stay online in any way. If the takedown notice is successful, the disappearance from the internet of information is most likely to be legitimate speech.
How did Lane Hill Capital purport this DMCA Fraud?
As an integral part of this scheme, the ‘reputation management’ company hired by Lane Hill Capital creates a website that purports to be a ‘news’ site. This site is designed to look legitimate at a glance, but any degree of scrutiny reveals it as the charade it is.
The company copies the ‘negative’ content and posts it “on the fake ‘news’ site, attributing it to a separate author,” then gives it “a false publication date on the ‘news’ website that predated the original publication.
The reputation company then sent Google a Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice claiming the original website infringed copyright. After a cursory examination of the fake news site, Google frequently accepts the notice and delists the content.
In committing numerous offences, Lane Hill Capital either premeditated actions or were unaware of the consequences. Despite hiring an agency to make Google disregard any negative information about Lane Hill Capital, ignorance does not excuse this wrongdoing.
The Reputation Laundering
Rogue Reputation agencies use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking clients to allegations of tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking. Most of these reputation agencies are based offshore, mainly in Russia, India, and Eastern Europe, and they do not worry about complying with US-based laws.
The content in all of the articles for which the fraudulent DMCA notices have been sent relates to allegations of criminal allegations, including corruption, child abuse, sexual harassment, human trafficking and financial fraud against businesses and individuals with ultra-high net worth.
In addition to the misuse of the DMCA takedown process, there is a notable absence of enforcement concerning perjury violations. The statutory requirement related to perjury is designed to deter copyright holders from submitting fraudulent or knowingly false takedown requests, as they may face legal consequences for making false declarations under penalty of perjury. However, to date, there have been no known instances of any individual being prosecuted for perjury in connection with the submission of false DMCA takedown notices.
This lack of enforcement has emboldened copyright holders to exploit the DMCA takedown process to suppress dissent, criticism, or other unfavorable content, without fear of legal repercussions.
Not In Good Company
Some of the people and businesses who have employed this tactic to remove legitimate content from Google illegally include a Spanish businessman-turned-cocaine-trafficker, Organised crime, an Israeli-Argentine banker accused of laundering money for Hugo Chávez’s regime, a French “responsible” mining company accused of tax evasion, child molesters and sexual predators. Lane Hill Capital is in great company ….
Ironically, the manipulation tactics used to remove public-interest information from the Internet are backfiring on Lane Hill Capital, which is now associated with the worst of this world.
Here are some of the specimens that share the internet space with Lane Hill Capital –
Miguel Octavio Vargas Maldonado
Miguel Octavio Vargas Maldonado appears to be the former foreign affairs minister of the Dominican Republic. His name is listed next to more than 500 links to news articles, blogs, social media posts, and YouTube videos targeted for removal or de-indexing. Many of the articles refer to questions over his political fundraising practices. They include accusations that Vargas had received donations from an individual who would later be convicted of drug trafficking. Some targeted links remain active, while others return 404 errors or “file not found.”
José Antonio Gordo Valero
José Gordo joined OneCoin in 2015 and has been named in an indictment for the OneCoin scam in Argentina. The articles listed next to Gordo’s name in the documents reviewed by Rest of World include references to his role at the company.
Diego Adolfo Marynberg
He appears to be the same Marynberg connected to funding right-wing causes, including settlement efforts in Israel. Reports also alleged that his company received preferential treatment in acquiring Argentinian bonds worth millions of dollars. More than 70 URLs appear next to Marynberg’s name in the documents, including pages from the Israeli newspapers The Times of Israel, Haaretz, and Clarin, one of Argentina’s most prominent news sites.
Majed Khalil Majzoub
Majed is an influential businessman with close ties to several governments, including the administration of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. Majzoub’s name appears next to more than 180 URLs, mostly from independent outlets. Of the two URLs that pointed to articles from Germany’s Der Spiegel, one now returns an error message; the other, which appears to refer to relations between Venezuela and Colombia, directs to an unrelated story about Brexit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Lane Hill Capital commit a cyber crime?
Yes, filing a fake DMCA notice is illegal. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) allows copyright holders to issue takedown notices to protect their works from unauthorized use online. However, submitting a false DMCA notice can result in legal consequences.
Under the DMCA, a person knowingly submitting a false copyright claim can be subject to penalties, including damages. DMCA notices require the filer to certify, under penalty of perjury, that the content infringes their copyright. If the notice is found to be fraudulent or made in bad faith, the filer can face.
What are the potential consequences for Lane Hill Capital?
Civil lawsuits: The affected party can sue for damages, legal fees, and other costs.
Perjury charges: False certification in a DMCA notice can result in perjury-related penalties, which vary by jurisdiction.
Other legal penalties: Fines or other penalties depending on the case
Did Lane Hill Capital commit a Civil or a Criminal offense?
Perjury is a criminal offense, not a civil crime. It involves intentionally lying or making false statements under oath, typically in a court of law or other legal proceedings, such as affidavits or depositions.
Criminal charges: Perjury is prosecuted as a criminal act, and a conviction can lead to fines or imprisonment, depending on the severity of the false statement and its impact on the case.
Felony status: In many jurisdictions, perjury is classified as a felony, which carries more severe penalties than misdemeanour offences.
So, while it may affect civil cases, the crime of perjury itself is strictly criminal.
What is the Streisand effect?
The key idea behind the Streisand effect is that efforts to restrict information can backfire, often causing the information to gain more attention than it would have otherwise. This effect is widespread in the digital age, where users quickly notice and spread censorship efforts on social media and other platforms.
Trying to suppress something can unintentionally lead to it becoming more visible.
Can Lane Hill Capital purge its Digital past?
Once information is uploaded to the internet, it can be replicated, shared, archived, or stored across multiple servers. If Lane Hill Capital manage to delete the original post or file, copies may remain accessible in other places, such as web archives, screenshots, or other users’ devices.
In practice, completely erasing content from the internet can be extremely difficult due to how widely information can spread and be stored. Thus, the idea that “the Internet never forgets” reflects the challenge of entirely removing digital content once it has been shared.
What is our next move?
Critical Intel will, in its capacity, do all it can to hold someone responsible for this incident. Here is what we are preparing for –
Since Lane Hill Capital made such efforts to hide something online, it seems fit to ensure that this article and our original review of Lane Hill Capital, including but not limited to user contributions, remain a permanent record for anyone interested in Lane Hill Capital.
A case perfect for the Streisand effect…
What else is Lane Hill Capital hiding?
Click here to visit the Google Search page for ‘Lane Hill Capital’. It’s likely if you scroll down to the bottom of this Google search results, you’ll stumble upon this Legal Takedown notice (pictured below)
To make such an investigation possible, we encourage more online service providers to come forward and share copies of content removal requests with us. If you have any information on Lane Hill Capital that you want to share with us, kindly email the author directly at [email protected].
All communications are strictly confidential and safeguarded under a comprehensive Whistleblower Policy, ensuring full protection and anonymity for individuals who provide information.
References and Citations Used
Over thirty thousand DMCA notices reveal an organized attempt to abuse copyright law.
Reputation Management, or Internet Conspiracy
Exposed documents reveal how the powerful cleaned up their digital past using a reputation laundering firm.
Companies Use Fake Websites and Backdated Articles to Censor Google’s Search Results.
Bad Reviews: How Companies Are Using Fake Websites to Censor Content
How fake copyright complaints are muzzling journalists
Many thanks to FakeDMCA.com and Lumen for providing access to their database.
Photos and Illustrations provided by DALL-E 3 – “a representation of Lane Hill Capital censoring the internet and committing cyber crimes.”
- Our investigative report on Lane Hill Capital’s efforts to suppress online speech is significant, as it raises serious concerns about its integrity. The findings suggest that Lane Hill Capital has engaged in questionable practices, including potential perjury, impersonation, and fraud, in a misguided attempt to manage or salvage its reputation.
- We intend to file a counternotice to reinstate the removed article(s). While this particular instance is relatively straightforward, it is important to note that, in other cases, the overwhelming volume of automated DMCA takedown notices can significantly hinder the ability of affected parties to respond—especially for those not large media organizations.
- You need an account with fakeDMCA.com and Lumen to access the research data. However, accounts are not widely available since these non-profit organisations manage large databases that could be susceptible to misuse. Nevertheless, they do offer access to non-profits and researchers.
- It’s unclear why U.S. authorities have yet to act against these rogue reputation agencies, whose business model seems rooted in fraudulent practices.
- We’ve reached out to Lane Hill Capital for a comment or rebuttal regarding this investigation. It will strongly suggest they were behind the takedown attempt if they remain silent.
About the Author
The author is affiliated with Harvard University and serves as a researcher at both Lumen and FakeDMCA.com. In his personal capacity, he and his team have been actively investigating and reporting on organized crime related to fraudulent copyright takedown schemes. Additionally, his team provides advisory services to major law firms and is frequently consulted on matters pertaining to intellectual property law. He can be reached at [email protected] directly.
