GirlsDoPorn: Compensation of 18 million US dollars

More than 400 victims of a scam involving the illegal publication of pornographic footage have been awarded compensation totaling $18 million. In addition, there is the copyright to the videos.

The Fraud

Rubens Garcia is the main perpetrator in the case, who has already been convicted: together with other people, including Michael James Pratt, who is currently wanted by the FBI, he invited women to take part in pretend model shoots with the help of specially set-up websites. In the course of these shoots, those involved were promised large sums of money for pornographic recordings. The catch: the photos had to be taken immediately. The victims were assured that the recordings would only be distributed abroad on DVDs.

In reality, however, the recordings ended up on the Internet – they were published on the GirlsDoPorn and GirlsDoToys platforms, which have since been shut down. There were also no high gifts. The income from the online publication, which was never agreed to by the victims, went to Rubens Garica and Co.

In addition, in some cases there was coercion to make the recordings: Those who initially decided to make the recordings, but then wanted to stop them, were detained, threatened with legal action or with publication of the previous recordings on the Internet.

The Verdict

A U.S. federal court has now ruled that the injured parties must be paid compensation of $18 million. In addition, they were awarded the copyright to the videos, which will make it much easier for them to obtain the deletion of the videos from Internet platforms where they continue to circulate. In a previous trial, the main defendant Rubens Garcia was sentenced to twenty years in prison.