Convicted Con Artist Spent $200K in Government Money to Help Feds Trap Google Illegal Pharmaceutical Sales
- Posted on January 25, 2012 at 10:00pm by
Liz Klimas
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In 2009, the feds turned to a convicted con artist and federal prisoner to help it launch a sting against Google to find evidence of illegal online pharmaceutical sales. Evidence collected resulted in Google settling with a $500 forfeiture instead of being taken to court.
David Whitaker (Photo via Wall Street Journal)
According to the Wall Street Journal’s exclusive report, David Whitaker began helping the government after a string of crimes that landed him in prison in 2008. During his time in the sting, Whitaker spent $200,000 in government money and helped create several fake companies to catch Google in the act. The Wall Street Journal has more on Whitaker’s involvement:
Mr. Whitaker told U.S. authorities about the alleged role Google played in helping his Mexico-based pharmacy.
Federal prosecutors, seeking to test the allegation, set up a task force in early 2009 with Mr. Whitaker’s help. On weekdays, he was escorted from the Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, R.I., to a former school department building in North Providence, R.I. There, under the watch of federal agents, he set a snare for Google.
Posing as the fictitious Jason Corriente, an agent for advertisers with lots of money to spend, Mr. Whitaker bypassed Google’s automated advertising system to reach flesh-and-blood ad executives. Federal agents created www.SportsDrugs.net, designed to look “as if a Mexican drug lord had built a website to sell HGH and steroids,” Mr. Whitaker said in his account of the sting.
Google first rejected it, along with an anti-aging website called www.NotGrowingOldEasy.com. But the company’s ad executives worked with Mr. Whitaker to find a way around Google rules, according to prosecutors and Mr. Whitaker’s account.
[...]
“Google’s employees were instrumental in bypassing policy regarding pharmacy verification,” Mr. Whitaker told the Journal. “The websites were blatantly illegal.”
Whitaker’s involvement opened the door for agents to launch other fake illegal pharmaceutical companies that passed through Google.
Watch the Wall Street Journal report:
The Wall Street Journal reports Whitacker’s involvement with the sting took four months. In the summer of 2009, the feds brought the evidence to Google. In 2011, Google reached a settlement — instead of going to trail — which included the forfeiture and it admitted to “improperly and knowingly” helping with illegal pharmaceutical drug sales by allowing advertisements, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Read more about the sting and Whitaker‘s history in the Wall Street Journal’s full article.
[H/T Gizmodo]
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Delores at CH WV
Posted on January 27, 2012 at 2:30amThe story here is what did that Prisioner GET for his cooperation with this said government program to hold over Google enough for them to continue snooping into our private lives. I guess they couldn’t find a typical American to sell out “We the People” outside the Prisions in America. This information gives me Hope for the future . . . Also, I guess this is why Eric Holder would like to clean out our prisons so that they can be used as his private little army! Any government that trusts Prisioners more than the typical American citizen should pray that his “Borg” doesn’t turn on him! Next . . .
Report Post »MarsBarsTru7
Posted on January 27, 2012 at 1:52amWhere any of the Google people caught charged for racketeering? Why wouldn’t they be? Isn’t this an obvious case of it?
Report Post »DirtyDeeds
Posted on January 26, 2012 at 4:29pmI think going to “trail” would have been a great option. They could have picked some berries or even wild flowers, plus it would have saved them $500.
Report Post »HTuttle
Posted on January 26, 2012 at 9:27amAh! Holier than thou Google!
Report Post »Secret Squirrel
Posted on January 26, 2012 at 9:01am.
Report Post »Hey!
Let‘s see if he can find Obama’s grades!
The MSM can’t seem to crack that nut.
Gonzo
Posted on January 26, 2012 at 8:42amA $500 forfeiture ? For crap sake, I’ve had speeding tickets that cost that much. I wonder what else Google gave up? Maybe the promise of a multimillion dollar campaign contribution?
Report Post »bjornskis
Posted on January 26, 2012 at 4:34amwow get 500 but spend 200K
maybe the government should start making electric cars
Report Post »Rowgue
Posted on January 26, 2012 at 12:08pmIt’s $500 million. Check the original story cited in the article.
Report Post »Cornflake
Posted on January 26, 2012 at 4:26amOf course the government wants conrol of the internet! Just recently, they wanted the PIPA, SOPA, and of all people, former Sen. Chris Dodd, was the CEO rep. for motion pictures association, rofl. Really??? What does that tell us? If the government spent some actual time figuring out how to reduce the amount of money they are spending of taxpayer money, it’d be time well spent! Until they can spy into our homes and at all public locations they will not be happy. Why are they so afraid of the people they govern?
Report Post »RonmeyPaulBotsrOdd
Posted on January 26, 2012 at 7:49amDon’t think SOPA and PIPA were just about hollywood – big pharma is in there too. There is a lot of money going to pharmacies outside the US. Much like the debit card fiasco brought on by the bigs like Home Depot (was supposed to save the consumer money – not a price drop anywhere to be seen) just follow the money to a local lobbyist near you. Shade needs sunshine.
Report Post »ozzie
Posted on January 26, 2012 at 2:35amIt seems like the government is trying really hard to create reasons why the internet needs to be regulated.
Report Post »Ghandi was a Republican
Posted on January 26, 2012 at 1:22amJust another reason why the Federal Government needs to get out of the drug business. All we are doing is creating monsters worse than the original issue. Because drugs are illegal they create wealth for crime Lords that destroy Nations and create a massive underground infrastructure around the Globe.
Report Post »And people get addicted to all the drugs they want from PUSHERS!
KangarooJack
Posted on January 25, 2012 at 11:40pmIt seems like a little filler story doesn’t it? A $500 fine is small. Maybe just a little too small-’ya think? I don’t google…I Bing. lol
Report Post »WeekendAtBernankes
Posted on January 26, 2012 at 1:38amI believe it was actually a $500 /million/ forfeiture. Interestingly enough, that was their profit from the underhanded dealings.
That is to say, the Federal Gov’t made $300M net and Google didn’t lose a dime.
Imagine if the guy selling this stuff on the street merely had to give up his profits if he got caught…
Report Post »JP4JOY
Posted on January 25, 2012 at 11:21pmMaybe they just wrote the numbers wrong but the way I read it we spent $200,000.00 on the criminal prosecution and entrapment to net a $500.00 fine? BRILLIANT our government hard at work spending our tax dollars as fast as they can!!!
Report Post »barnsy
Posted on January 26, 2012 at 2:49amWhat about the trillions of taxpayer dollars spent by the con artist in the White House?
Report Post »B_rad
Posted on January 25, 2012 at 11:14pmI’m sorry, did I read that right? $200,000 spent and google only forfeit $500???? If there was ever any doubt google is in bed with the federal government, this would negate it.
And Tron is right. Blaze, you guys rock, but the art of proofreading as gone away in favor of spell check. Spell check is great, but proofreading is still essential. Please.
Report Post »whatthecrazy
Posted on January 25, 2012 at 10:46pmUh how about you, our sorry excuse for a government stop wasting our (The People)’s money and start cleaning out the criminals in the White House……..okie dokie
Report Post »TRONINTHEMORNING
Posted on January 25, 2012 at 10:42pmWhat would have happened if they had gone to “trail.”
Report Post »120pages
Posted on January 25, 2012 at 11:18pmThen they would have also had to go to “shcool” compliments of The Blaze.
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