Good Afternoon Folks!!
First I want to say that as of this time Nelson Brady has neither confessed his guilt nor proclaimed his innocence. He has been accused by his previous employer of this massive scandal and we assume this is all based on fact. But as I write this, thatSTONEWALL (Tiger Woods Style) is still up and few are demanding them pull it down. How the industry treats this, reacts to it, and how this all unfolds will determine a lot about the future.
This will certainly raise some eyebrows. Ihad hoped to get this online just a few minutes after the post yesterday and could add to it. As it turned out, it was a much more time consuming process than anticipated. The audio file is over 100 megs and took a while just to upload so that Danny could download. This really has required hours of work way beyond my expertise. After I was on it for more than 3 hours I want to thankDanny Pryor for helping me out. He was up until 2AM working on this and has been on it since early morning today.
Nelson 'Halvarez' Brady.
Image lifted fromDNJournal.com
Publication of RECORD for the Domain Industry
I think it has a great value to listen to somebody during the period they are accused of doing something that has rocked our industry. Like I said, some of the words were chilling when you hear them now and since nobody is talking,maybe you will pick something up of interest. FirstHoward will introduce Snapname's Mason Cole who will introduce Nelson 'Halvarez' Brady.
Click here to listen to the FIRST audio file. (It is online now)
Click here to listen to the SECOND audio file. Here you will hear Mason Cole introduce Nelson Brady and then his only public words that we know of spoken by 'Halvarez.' EXPLOSIVE and CHILLING.'
Rick Schwartz
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Jake
Thanks a million Rick. This is indeed chilling.
David Rosenbaum
Chilling? What’s chilling? Maybe the music you added but nothing else. Perhaps the second audio file which is of Brady himself will give me the chills. Otherwise, the only thing that is giving me chills is how ridiculous EVERYONE is being about this, including you Rick. Again, if Oversee was still your main sponsor I doubt you’d be posting a word about this. While I agree that the whole thing sucks and someone (perhaps many) deceived and screwed people out of lots of money, it is also very telling when the mob circles and starts to throw stones. This industry is full of BS and EVERYONE is out for themselves. Even you Rick. Happy Holidays.
Rick Schwartz
David,
Thanks for reserving your judgement until after the second audio. Pay particular attention to his very first thoughts and claim that he is not a”Robot” and really exists.
Joey
I listened to the audio file and I did not hear Halvarez anywhere, nor did I hear anything of significance. Maybe I missed something that someone can point out?
Rick
The less relavent you are the louder you must scream to be heard.
I’m glad TRAFFIC is in new hands now and Rick 1.0 can fade into the Florida sunshine.
You bid against your own friend and speaker on flowers.mobi. Which you got jacked hardcore on so I’m glad karma was around.
You promoted some stupid mobile screen thing you could place anywere and have a monitor. You made it sound like it was the biggest thing since the wheel.
On your last show you ripped off everyone with a keynote speaker you pulled out your ass.
And now you can’t close your mouth long enough to get a breath of air over this thing. Cut them done slack WE put up with you and your much worse!
Rick Schwartz
Thanks Owen for providing the identity of”Rick”. Morons always fuck up. Especially DOUCHE BAGS that hate pets as displayed the other day.
I should have known!
David Rosenbaum
I listened to the other audio file and my gut (which I heavily rely on) tells me Brady is guilty. Chilling? A bit, but again, the most chilling part is the music.
I’m sure we’ll hear much more about all of this over the next several months.
Rick
Anything to say about my post above? Anything directly?
Silence from the domain king = epic ownage
epic
Rick Schwartz
David,
I just listened to it again. His words are chilling given what we are led to believe and even back then, there were serious questions. Thanks for the followup post. I think you will have to agree that it was worth listening to.
David Rosenbaum
Hi Rick- agreed, definitely worth listening to.
Adam Strong
“he refers directly to rumors of robot bidding and its psychological impact on him. He claims the accusations are false.”
He did not say Robot bidding. Chilling? Bad humor is not that chilling. I think you’ve taken this out of context.
Many of the people who knew and worked with Nelson one on one knew him as a tireless worker. He even talks about this at the beginning. He was available just as much at 6am as he was at 3am. Thus the reference to”I am not a robot”
While interesting to look back twisting the context of his words here is the only chilling part.
Rick Schwartz
You must mean he was a”Tireless” CROOK if what Oversee says is true. Maybe not chilling for you, but certainly for me and we will see how many others.
Meanwhile this is the ONLY known recording of Nelson Brady in existence as far as we know and apparently the first time he ever went to a domain conference.
Rick Schwartz
And speak about TWISTING.
THIS is what I said”Pay particular attention to his very first thoughts and claim that he is not a”Robot” and really exists.”
And while you accuse me of taking something out of context, you CHANGE my words to”He did not say Robot bidding. Chilling? Bad humor is not that chilling. I think you’ve taken this out of context.”
I NEVER used the phrase”ROBOT BIDDING above. But you decided you had some right to add it and misrepresent what I said for YOUR convenience. I did use the WORD”Robot” that HE uses in the audio. How the hell am I supposed to know the context? But nice for you to defend him while ADDING things I did not say. TYPICAL ADAM STUFF!
Gordon
“the only known recording of Nelson Brady in existence…”
geez, we’re not talking about Lincoln here folks.
I wonder if people who got ripped off in the banking scandal are talking about”the only known recording of Joe Smith in existence” about the guy who ripped them off.
Adam Strong
What part is chilling to you ?
You saw what I wrote about Nelson in my editorial. I worked with the guy on lots of issues and trusted him with more than just bidding. You know I was blown away. BUT back then he was known throughout the space as one of the hardest working, kindest, most accessible people. Yes none of us knew he was jacking around that’s what makes it chilling but we’ve already been through that discussion already. There’s nothing that this recording brings to light and you are twisting his words here. . . BIG TIME.
Regardless of his actions, there’s no reason for you to take his words and add to them and twist them out of context. I don’t get it Rick and I hope you never take something I say out of context in this way. Very dangerous. I’m sure there’s plenty of recordings of all of us out there that can be”looked back on” and twisted. I’m trying to give you the context and tell you that he did not say what you have posted on the youtube page which I quoted above.
Adam Strong
I took it right off the youtube page. If that’s not your words then I apologize. Who said it then ?
Adam Strong
Word for word from this link :
http://www.youtube.com/user/TargetedTraffic
Snapnames-PartII.m4v
From: TargetedTraffic | December 01, 2009 | 83 views
The most chilling part of our two-part webisode. In this segment, Nelson Brady of Snapnames.com delivers an address at the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. West 2007 show in Las Vegas. During his talk, he refers directly to rumors of robot bidding and its psychological impact on him. He claims the accusations are false. With Brady now drummed out of the domain industry amid allegations of shill bidding, and the knowledge of the”Halvarez” handle widely known among domainers, how does this presentation set the stage of possible litigation? Listen to the only known audio of Nelson Brady discussing this controversy, even as he is alleged to have spearheaded the shill bidding endeavor.
… (more info)
(less info)
View comments, related videos, and more
Donna Mahony
When something is written by TargetedTraffic on the YouTube page you linked us to, we assume it’s your words, Rick. Adam didn’t twist anything. Read the write up on the page:
During his talk, he refers directly to rumors of robot bidding and its psychological impact on him.
Adam Strong
Again. . somehow my post disappeared. I apologize if that was not posted by you but it is your show’s page so I assumed you posted it.
As to this :”How the hell am I supposed to know the context? But nice for you to defend him while ADDING things I did not say.”
You don’t know the context yet you post about it. I gave you the context. I’m defending no one.
“TYPICAL ADAM STUFF!”
What is this typical stuff ? Pointing out something I see as wrong?
Rick Schwartz
Adam,
I did not write that. Danny Pryor wrote that. I would assume that was what he interpreted but the proper thing to do is wait for Danny to chime in or update if need be. I just know those were not my words and even tho everyone believes Nelson is guilty, I am one of the few that have posted even in this post that he may not be. I have done that several times.
However with the absence of details, any insight into this is more than we have.
Rick Schwartz
As far as what part is chilling? The entire thing but especially at the beginning couple of paragraphs of his remarks. This was obviously at the heigh of the scandal I would imagine. I think he pointed to be accused of this or that. Being the same time line and they had been so trusted and now that are not trusted…..well to me, that was chilling. For you maybe not. For others they may go either way. But if I had the actual transcript in front of me, I could point to several things he said that were chilling. I know he said something about the emails from him. That was very weird. I am still trying to figure it out.
Rick Schwartz
Donna,
At the time I thought Adam was referring to the statement I made above where I did not use that word. We are now on the same page.
Adam Strong
As I said apologies Rick but it’s on your”property” so I’m sure you can see how it was construed.
I was chiming in to give the context to the actual words and”joke” in the speech and to correct the”quoting” that was done.
I’m not the tables were turned here to say that was coming to his defense. I think you can agree that the quoting was wrong at best.
Now I’d really like to know this Typical Stuff you speak of. . . Ive sent you an email.
Rick Schwartz
No worries Adam.
Rick Schwartz
Adam,
I don’t know what happened with any post not posted. I don’t censor other than spam.
I know some have said long posts get cut off or go to never never land.
Cartoonz
What if….
What if you conspired with the other executives at your company to generally defraud your customers – for years.
(Nelson was not an”exectutive” when this all started, he was employee #1 at Snapnames).
What if, after years of such wholesale fraud, it was time to”come clean” somehow because everything was about to unravel anyhow…
What would you do? I’ll tell you.
You would conspire further with employee #1 to”take the heat” and disappear… you would make him a generous offer for his silence… you would loudly proclaim that you, and all your crooked cronies are somehow”innocent victims” of this whole thing (ignoring the fact that the ill gotten gains all flowed directly into the company’s coffers and not the supposed evil doer’s).
You would offer up settlement that insulates you from any and every possible thing that could ever happen in the future as well as everything since the beginning of time…
You would continue to stick to your story that the single bad actor has left the building and hope that none of the stupid sheep you are preaching to actually puts it all together.
How’s that working for you, Mason?
Rick Schwartz
Cartoonz brings up a good point. Snapnames is not a victim. Oversee is not a victim. The ONLY victims are the domainers that got screwed out of their future assets and earnings and wasted their TIME and over paid when they did win.
Don
When you introduce yourself to an audience you do not right off the bat say your not a robot. Negative right off the bat. He mentions I instead of we many times also not good.
Also during the first few minutes you do not defend or talk about personal rumors and then not go in to detail. He just leaves it out there like we should figure it out.
I have never nor will ever buy from snap, if they cannot catch a guy like this in their own company doing things like this, why would anyone want to do business with an outfit like this. Comes down to a persons character I guess. I am sure they are a fine company in many aspects but someone messed up big time. To be honest I think he is just the fall guy.. Kind of like ceo’s of companies….. Just a wild guess of course. Just like my wild guess of the dow being at 8k by end of this month.
Randy
If posting past recordings of TRAFFIC speakers who fall into scandal or rip off other domainers, Rick will have material for years to come.
Cartoonz
I realize that this might not be popular to point out right now, but all this focus on the”I’m not a robot” stuff was not about the shill bidding at all.
I dealt with Nelson from day 1 and what Adam was saying is correct. Nelson seemed to be available 24/7 to those of us in the loop (no, not THAT loop) and I know his comments about”not being a robot” referred to that because we all used to joke with him about that very thing.
I’m not defending his actions in this scandal at all but, again, I must point out that he seems to be a very convenient scapegoat for the rest of the company.
Rick, you’re right that SnapNames the company was not a victim. Oversee was a victim until they took the duck and cover approach, then they became just as guilty as the original sinners. So, yeah, not a victim any more.
Marcia Lynn
“and even tho everyone believes Nelson is guilty”
Everyone does not believe Nelson is guilty. I’ve said many times in many places, I do not believe this was his doing. He may have been instructed to carry out a company plan; it wouldn’t be the first time we’ve seen shill bidding, including at conferences.
Until Nelson tells me he did it, or a court proves he did it, I consider him the scapegoat.
Rick Schwartz
Marcia,
I have not seen any of those public comments by you or anyone for that matter. Not doubting you tho. Just the observation that MOST believe he is guilty whether he is or not or whether he worked alone or not. When folks stonewall, they usually have something to hide and I beleive like you that is the case here.
Tiger Woods is the perfect example. The police may have closed the investigation but the public is just starting theirs. We can basically put together what happened.
As far as”Shill Bidding” at conferences, it is wrong. It is wrong anywhere at any time REGARDLESS of the laws or venue. That is my position. That has always been my position. All the way back to the Afternic days.
Sc
Perception is reality.
It is simply an audio tape.
ScottM
Very telling indeed. More than anything this guy Brady just sounds like a robot and first-rate self-serving jerk. His”higher calling” thankfully was not speaking coherently and intelligently to a group of knowledgable domain insiders that’s for sure.
His next speaking engagement likely will be in a conference room with an Assistant U.S. attorney across from him and a transscriber!
andrew
Rick, I really think you need to get that description Danny wrote on YouTube taken down/edited. I realize you didn’t post it, but having something that seems completely inaccurate next to your TargetedTraffic brand will damage it.
Josh Bond
My thoughts on this whole controversy:
1) Why haven’t charges been filed and why aren’t the feds investigating this?
2) Why did Snapnames reveal this now? What was about to happen, a whistleblower? How did Snapnames discover this (assuming they did not already know)?
3) Snapnames was sold not that long ago. Doesn’t this give the buyer recourse to go after the previous Snapnames ownership. Sales were inflated, the auctions were fraudulent, and their image and trustworthiness has been crushed.
4) Does criminal negligence extend into corporate issues, when something so outrageous was happening for so long, that executives”knew, or should have known” and are therefore criminally negligent? I don’t know, I’m asking?
5) If the impact was truly minimal as Snap says, and this was the only account that shill bidded, then why did Halverz do it at all?
5) Without subpoenaing records and a discovery process, how will any of you ever know if this happened once, or if he had 20 accounts doing the same thing. How do we even know Snapname’s accounting of the auctions he was involved in is accurate and the data not tampered with?
6) Why is it when I sent an email to Snapnames recently asking about an issue I have related to this, I was ignored?
Steve Morales
Josh, long time my friend. How the hell are you?
You make outstanding points. Unfortunately, none of these points are being addressed.
The discovery process will reveal many details. There are no escape routes at this time for snap. 2 class action lawsuits have been filed. One if not both will hold up.
Something I found interesting from the audio file that no one mentioned is the fact that Snapnames.com, the aution house, that does not bid on any domains through the platform, was giving away TEN Domains from Snapnames.com
How did they acquire these domains and from where?
The partner registries deleting names?
Did they pull these 10 domains before they went to auction?
It would be interesting to know what TEN Domains were given away and their after market values in 2007.
I understand all these companies have domain portfolios, however, isn’t it just a little unethical for the domain auction house to be build a portfolio from expiring domains?
I know registrars have been doing it for years. But this is a certified auction house.
Does anyone know the TEN Domains given away so research can be done to get the full history of these domains?
Maybe, I too am reading too much into this whole audio thing?
Anunt
EXPLOSIVE AND CHILLING..LOL
I think you should go buy the domain name DramaQueen.com and post your own pic on there!
Who agrees?
David Rosenbaum
Steve- great point. Where did the 10 domain names originate?
Kay
Yes indeed. I was stunned at the casual way he mentioned the name freebies like this wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Also the talk of ‘strange rumors’…Is he referring to the early allegations of shill bidding there? Other issues as well..?
I get a horrible feeling this ‘Snapgate’ episode is going to be like peeling off the chipped paintwork on rotten woodwork…
stewart
I found Part I less than chilling but Part II could have started the new ice age for me as I listen to the double entendre..thnx Rick, good job.
I think I am going downstairs to light me a fire.
domains
just to save everyone 6 minutes of their life, dont bother listening to part one its just visually promoting traffic , the next one, and no mention of brady
stewart
huh? I just noticed something, in the photo hear, same khaki colored shirt and green jacket as federal prisoners wear? can we get a better look at the id tags too?
son of a gun?
LS Morgan
When Arrington came out and said”Anyone who doesn’t know how dirty the domain name business is just doesn’t know the domain name business” in his techcrunch article on Halvarez, I viewed that as being a wink and a nod towards something I think all of us have suspected all along…
There is a natural rottenness to the operating model of professional dropcatching and summary auctioning.
There are some naive people out there who are completely oblivious to human nature. To them, no explanation will suffice. For everyone else, when you look at”how” things are conducted in the name expiration game, the occurance of Halvarez isn’t even that shocking. It’s no different than online poker and the eventual relevations that one of the major sites were cheating… When you have an online concern that is totally unregulated and supervised transacting in millions (in the case of poker- billions) of dollars, what Nelson Brady did wasn’t a shocker- it was simply the culmination of something that was bound to eventually come to light.
In the aftermarket drop game, you’re bidding in a system controlled by the companies who own the property you’re bidding on. It doesn’t take Detective Columbo to figure out what’s likely to occur at some point down the line.
This was inevitable, but intuition says it’s a much narrower piece of a larger puzzle.
I do think the hysteria is a bit overblown, but I don’t think that Halvarez is the end of the story…
stewart
so LS? you are saying you are non pulsed about several years of some very sophisticated goings on that may well be in violation of several laws governing business and proffessions every other business has to abide by but, because it is your industry and every one does it and there surely is more elsewhere it okay?
Is that what you really mean to say? And that every one else who disagrees that this is not a benign matter is hysterical then is it?
LS Morgan
Stewart- I cannot tell if you just suck at comprehending words, or are being intentionally obtuse. Either way, I’ll be happy to clarify.
No where did I say that Halvarez was”ok”. No where did I even remotely imply that. I simply said that it wasn’t even a bit shocking that”a Halvarez” eventually occurred, given the dynamics in play with the expiring domain game.
You’re bidding in a system where the people who own the property being auctioned can see your reserve. They can see who’s watching what at any given time… The way the”system” is set up completely undermines the integrity of the auction process, yet like sheep to the slaughter, we all march in with our wallets open.
Like I referenced earlier- online poker was much this way, too. You had shadowy entities, all located offshore, being operated by persons unknown, taking deposits for hundreds of millions of dollars, so people could play a”game” on their site. Prior to the inevitable occurring (an insider cheating and draining lots of people of lots of money), the mere mention of dishonest dealings in the online poker world met with howls of derision and nasty scorn. Everyone wanted to believe in ‘the benevolent overseer’, keeping them safe at night. When the curtain was pulled back and the operation exposed to the world- the grotesque, dishonest, ugly operation- those previously naive people woke up and were forced to confront a simple truism that is understood by many people but shockingly enough, just as many don’t seem to get it.
That truism is this.
If money is involved, people will cheat. The less risk of getting caught, the greater the brazenness of the cheating.
In the case of the aftermarket auction process- where a handful of heavy-hitters control the universe with the levers of power being operated behind tightly closed doors- as naive people blissfully throw their money into a system that cannot demonstrate it’s own integrity.
I’m an avid participant in the drops, from Pool/Snap/Enom backorders to desktop snapping with software. I’ve gotten some great, great names this way and made a little money along the way. With that said, if it were up to me, the ‘drop’ as we know it would come to an end. Fairness is completely gone.
stewart
uh-huh, well? excuse meeeeeee, as the old Steve Martin character used to say?
Kay
LS is just being clinically matter of fact about it, not cheerleading. Though this odious chapter in the game’s history was of course this year’s ‘headline’ (at least in this domain), it’s sadly not that hard to take on board.
We like to tell ourselves that most people are basically good, just so we get better quality sleep. They aren’t. And there are multiple ‘Halvarez” (of varying degrees) in operation right now.
Some will get caught, but most won’t.
Chuck Hatcher
OK, so this finally caught my attention (I’ve been more than a little out-of-touch with the domain world for a couple of years now.)
No, thanks, I won’t be signing the rebate agreement.
I had problems with Snapnames several times in the history of the company. Every time, Nelson Brady was quick to jump in with explanations, offers of remediation, and calming words to soothe my frustration. Now I have to wonder how many times I got screwed and came back for more.
My experiences include irregularities at Snapnames that pre-date the auction system (the old”SnapBack” days). Some valuable domain names that were”caught” by Snapnames and then”lost” while being transferred to me, or”caught” by a Snapnames affiliated registrar but somehow not”for” my Snapnames account… All the problems were explained away by Nelson, and I took him at his word, ignoring my gut instincts. Was he being straight with me? I’ll probably never know.
Anyway, signing the agreement seems like the wrong move for me, even if I never pursue the matter.
And”hi” to some old friends I’ve lost touch with!
jp
Rather then Judge whether it was a chilling audio or not, hindsight aside, what really strikes me is the words of the speech itself. He basically got up there and had a little pitty party for himself. That’s weird IMHO. Who does that? It struck my as unprofessional and detracted from the rest of the whole presentation.