by Structured Settlement Watchdog
The chips are falling in Richart Ruddie’s plan to charge customers to effectively scam Google by filing phony lawsuits in various courts and obtain “consent judgments”
On January 31, 2017, a Rhode Island Federal Judge vacated the Order in Bradley Smith, Plaintiff v Deborah Garcia, Defendant and Myvesta Foundation Defendant-Intervenor C.A. 16-144S
- According to the Memorandum Decision and Order, the case started with a defamation lawsuit based on comments contained in two blog posts. The lawsuit was purportedly brought by “Bradley Smith” (“Plaintiff”) against “Deborah Garcia” (“Defendant”).
- Shortly after that lawsuit was filed, the Court was presented with a Consent Motion for Injunction and Final Judgment, which the Court adopted and entered. The Consent Judgment included an admission by Defendant that the comments at issue constituted defamation and provided an Order that could be submitted to various internet search engines so that the defamatory statements would be removed
- Myvesta subsequently submitted a Motion for Leave to Intervene. Myvesta operates the website on which the allegedly defamatory comments had been posted. According to Myvesta, the Consent Judgment was obtained through fraud on the Court. Myvesta’s attorney attempted to contact Defendant by mail at the address listed on the Consent Judgment submitted by the parties, but the letter was returned as undeliverable. Myvesta’s attorney also contacted the attorney for the named Plaintiff in this case. Plaintiff’s attorney “confirmed . . .both that [Plaintiff] had not signed the papers submitted in this case and in his name and that [Plaintiff] had not authorized the filing of this action in his name.”
- Myvesta submitted a Motion to Vacate the Consent Judgment. At a November 2016 hearing on the motion the Court directed the file be sent to the United States Attorney for investigation (into the fraud)
- In light of the evidence that the Consent Judgment was procured through fraud on the Court, including the misrepresentation that the named Plaintiff instigated the action, the Rhode Island Court granted Myvesta’s Motion to Vacate.
- The Court also granted Myvesta’s request for the Clerk of the Court to provide a copy of the check submitted as payment for the filing fee of the phony lawsuit in order to assist Myvesta in determining what person or persons should be held responsible for the fraud on the Court. It has already been learned that on February 24, 2016 RIR1984 LLC, a company, associated with Richart Ruddie and Ryan Blank, RIR1984 LLC Ruddie and Blank whose check, endorsed by Richart Ruddie, was used to pay for the process server for the phony Rhode Island lawsuit.
- The transmittal email for the process server came from Annuity Sold, a company/brand associated with Richart Ruddie and his Owings Mills high school buddy Ryan Blank.
- The Court agreed that attorney’s fees may be appropriate in this case and that the Court has inherent authority to “award sanctions upon finding that a party has acted in bad faith, vexatiously, wantonly, or for oppressive reasons
Smith v Garcia and Myvesta Order Granting Order to Vacate
Coincidence?
- Perhaps a coincidence, Richart Ruddie’s SEO Profile Defenders partner David Lynn withdrew/resigned on October 5, 2016, just days before the Washington Post column about the phony lawsuits broke. David Lynn Disassociates from Richart Ruddie 10-5-2016 re SEO Profile Defenders
- As I previously reported, RIR1984 LLC was dissolved 2 days after the Washington Post publication about the scam.
Richart Ruddie deploys a variety of aliases. According to Profile Defenders’ Manta listing at the time of publication he goes by “Rich Ru”
Did you say Rich “Ru”?