gonzo
03-12-2007, 10:48 AM
Registerfly.com may not be a very big company, but an extremely ugly falling out between the owners of the registrar of Web site domain names is causing a major headache for 200,000 site owners who registered their sites through it. That roster of customers includes registrants as varied as the government of Thailand, the Easter Seals charity, and pop star Michael Jackson.
The company's problems have also brought a hail of criticism down on the International Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers, the organization that accredits domain name registrars. Customers of New Jersey-based Registerfly.com complain in online forums that ICANN waited too long to intervene in a dispute that has left the company's status—and some domain names—in flux.
A Sordid Scandal Erupts
After months of customer-service complaints and internal friction, Registerfly.com's Web site shut down abruptly on Mar. 6. It was back online late on Mar. 7. A hearing that could resolve the matter was scheduled for Mar. 8 at U.S. District Court in Newark.
Before the court are claims and counterclaims by two men who have been running the company since 2000. In a suit filed Feb. 12, current Chief Executive John Naruszewicz alleges that the former chief executive, Kevin Medina, has been stealing money from the company since the middle of last year to pay for two Cadillac Escalades, a penthouse apartment in Miami's South Beach, an escort service, and liposuction. Medina's response, filed Mar. 7, accuses Naruszewicz of using fraud to take control of the company. Naruszewicz and another director of the company fired Medina on Feb. 12.
read more about how you get what you pay for... (http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2007/tc20070307_079128.htm?chan=technology_technology+i ndex+page_more+of+today%27s+top+stories)
The company's problems have also brought a hail of criticism down on the International Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers, the organization that accredits domain name registrars. Customers of New Jersey-based Registerfly.com complain in online forums that ICANN waited too long to intervene in a dispute that has left the company's status—and some domain names—in flux.
A Sordid Scandal Erupts
After months of customer-service complaints and internal friction, Registerfly.com's Web site shut down abruptly on Mar. 6. It was back online late on Mar. 7. A hearing that could resolve the matter was scheduled for Mar. 8 at U.S. District Court in Newark.
Before the court are claims and counterclaims by two men who have been running the company since 2000. In a suit filed Feb. 12, current Chief Executive John Naruszewicz alleges that the former chief executive, Kevin Medina, has been stealing money from the company since the middle of last year to pay for two Cadillac Escalades, a penthouse apartment in Miami's South Beach, an escort service, and liposuction. Medina's response, filed Mar. 7, accuses Naruszewicz of using fraud to take control of the company. Naruszewicz and another director of the company fired Medina on Feb. 12.
read more about how you get what you pay for... (http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2007/tc20070307_079128.htm?chan=technology_technology+i ndex+page_more+of+today%27s+top+stories)