Perry Belcher: Internet Marketer Pleads Guilty and Forfeits Assets
Frankly, I took a lot of grief from Perry Belcher’s defenders for posting Perry Belcher - The Arrest of an Internet Marketer. The post was not an attack on Belcher but rather a warning to all Internet marketers about the type of behavior that draws unwanted attention from the government.
Some flames accused me of attacking Ryan Deiss in the process. While it is true that Deiss is Belcher’s friend and supporter, it is insane to infer that pointing out Belcher’s arrest somehow meant I was going after Deiss too.
Now back to Belcher. According to The Memphis Commercial Appeal (Shelby County man sentenced for health-remedy scam), Belcher has pled guilty to computer fraud, received a 10-year suspended sentence, forfeited many websites, and more than $1 million in assets as part of the plea agreement.
The next time you consider treading into gray or black hat Internet marketing tactics, consider what has happened to Belcher.
I have no doubt that he’ll rebound from the experience and do well if he positions himself in Internet marketing circles as a martyr to a government witch hunt.
But that’s beside the point. It could have been avoided. And you can learn from his experience to prevent it from happening to you.
Hat tip to the AP - Fake health care scam draws guilty plea in Memphis.
What do you think about the plea deal? Was Belcher picked upon? Did he get a fair deal? Was the sentence a slap on the wrist? Should Belcher’s alleged victims receive restitution from him?
About the Author
With an advanced international law degree from Georgetown University and more than 14 years of real world legal experience, Attorney Mike Young shows entrepreneurs how to protect and grow their businesses online. He's the author of "Internet Marketing
Legal Secrets Revealed," "How to Create Your Own Internet Business Without a Lawyer for Under $175," and the creator of Website
Legal Forms GeneratorTM. Not just a lawyer who focuses exclusively on Internet and marketing law, Mike’s been working with computers for more than 27 years (his first computer was an Atari 400 with 8 KiB RAM) and started representing Internet businesses back in 1996.
Free Website Success Training | Oct 14, 2008 | Reply
Hi Mike
Thnaks for the informative blog post.
He pled guilty so let’s assume the allegations were right.
I don’t see how Belcher even came close to anything like punishment. Sure he forefeited what looks like ’some’ of the ill-gotten gains. But it also seems like he got to keep plenty.
Additionally he has enjoyed several years of a good life style too. And as you suggested he’ll probably enjoy some form of dark celebrity status in IM.
Blatant fraud, if indeed that was the case, deserves at least a custodial sentence. Many people get that for a lot lesser crimes.
Keep up the good work Mike and thanks again
Sami
Mike Young | Oct 14, 2008 | Reply
Sami,
Thanks for your response. I haven’t seen a copy of the actual plea deal so don’t know if any of the forfeited assets can be claimed by Perry Belcher’s customers. If not, that means anyone injured will probably have to hire a good trial lawyer and sue him in civil court to collect damages. Not a litigator so won’t weigh in on the merits of doing so.
Best wishes,
-Mike
jim | Oct 28, 2008 | Reply
On one of Ryan Deiss’s videos where he extolls the virtues of “Mr. X” (actually Belcher), they show a single adwords account with 7 million total billed. That’s just one of what they say are multiple adwords accounts. And you can assume that the gross had to be a multiple of that figure. So he had quite a sizeable operation there.
He is very lucky. Gary Halbert wasn’t as lucky as him.
Belcher is clearly very street savvy (his grammar leaves a lot to be desired). He seems to be one of those folks who could dig themselves out of a hole and end up back in the game, so I think you are right, he will survive. Hopefully he has learned and will be more cautious.
Interesting story though.