Recently I've been in contact with Mike Zupke of ICANN and ICANN is fully aware of what's going on with Registerfly.  His response wasn't all that great.  His admittance of knowing what's going on and not being able to provide a positive solution automatically allow everyone to be able to name ICANN in a lawsuit and you are welcome to use the below correspondence as evidence of such.  It's called:  Unjust Enrichment

Below I've provided the emails in chronological order and responses from both the Ombudsman of ICANN and Mike Zupke.  The emails will be listed by date.  The first email is my original email to the Ombudsman and next will be his response.  I've made these public due to the fact that Mr. Zupke conveniently ignored my last email with no response... hence the squeaky wheel.  Please read on and comment.

My Email to Ombudsman January 24, 2007

I'm am writing in regards to Registerfly and am pleading to you that you
look into their fraudulent acts of domain theft and everything else they are
doing.  Please visit www.registerflies.com

We don't know how they gained the approval of ICANN because they were doing
bad business with Enom prior to the Accreditation but we are asking you to
investigate these issues immediately.  Just do a search on Google and you'll
find nothing positive or business like about this cancerous company
supported by the ICANN Organization.  Many other letters have been sent and
they are still able to continue the fraud.

Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help.  Please also
respond.  Find a copy of a letter below:

    I have deposited the request at ICANN, January 6, 2007, to withdraw the
status ''ICANN accredited registrar'' for REGISTERFLY, because otherwise
ICANN would lend creditbility to REGISTERFLY marketing.

    If more than 100 other Registerfly customers take part, ICANN will
probably be obliged to consider to follow the request. The total customer
damage is in my estimation between 2 mio. USD und 20 mio. USD. ICANN will
probably not like to be legally involved in the responsibility for damage
compensation. The only way not to be involved, is to withdraw the
''accredited'' status.

    Is it possible to coordinate on your site such a joint withdrawal
demand? (with all REGISTERFLY customers specifying their damage in time,
lost money, lost business) I would formulate the standardized text modules,
and all participants could add a description of their
    specific horror story.

Response: ICANN Ombudsman Jan. 24, 2007

From: ICANN Ombudsman
Sent: Wednesday, 24 January, 2007 10:16 AM
To: admin
Cc: 'Mike Zupke'
Subject: 07-10

I am writing to you to advise that I have referred the matter of your
complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman to the Registrar Liaison Manager,
at ICANN, Mr. Mike Zupke, for his consideration.

The role of the Ombudsman is to review the fairness of actions, decisions,
or inactions taken or not taken by the ICANN Board or Staff. In this case,
you have essentially asked me to look into a matter involving a dispute
between you and your registrar, and this falls outside of the powers given
to me under Bylaw V.
http://www.icann.org/ombudsman/documents/ombuds-frmwrk-eng-20jun05.pdf

I have fully briefed Mr. Zupke on your concerns, and I am sure that he will
provide you with the most fulsome answer as is possible. If, however, Mr.
Zupke determines that the matter you are complaining about is unrelated to
the Registrar's Accreditation Agreement, or any other ICANN policy, he will
likely encourage you to work out the situation with the registrar.

If, at the end of his review, you feel that there is any matter of
unfairness which bears the attention of the Office of the Ombudsman, please
do not hesitate to contact me.

Best regards,

Frank Fowlie

From Mike Zupke - January 24, 2007 

I am also familiar with the types of specific complaints ICANN receives
regarding this registrar / reseller.

Please understand, however, that ICANN is not a federal or state agency. We
do not have a general police power, nor do we have the ability to enforce
laws or private contracts between registrars and registrants. ICANN's power
is derived from the Registrar Accreditation Agreements (RAAs) we hold with
all accredited registrars, and as such, we can only legally require a
registrar to take actions (or abstain from taking actions) that are
specifically addressed in those agreements. (You can find a copy of the
agreement online at
http://www.icann.org/registrars/ra-agreement-17may01.htm.)

If you have a specific complaint about Registerfly, I would encourage you
first to perform a whois search (either at www.internic.net or elsewhere) to
determine whether Registerfly is the registrar of record or whether they
registered the name in their capacity as a reseller for eNom, Inc. If eNom
is the registrar, you should then contact them for resolution of the issue.
You can find their contact information at www.internic.net (click
Registrars). If the name is registered through Registerfly as the registrar
of record, please contact Glenn Stansbury, VP of Operations for Registerfly
at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or by phone at +1 973 909 4169. This is his direct
dial line at the Rfly office. Although Glenn asked ICANN to provide his
contact details to assist customers in resolving complaints, if you find he
is not responsive or not helpful, I would strongly encourage you to consider
retaining legal counsel to determine what rights you may have with regard to
Registerfly's actions or inactions. In addition, you might consider filing
a complaint with the New Jersey Attorney General (where Rfly does business)
and the US FTC (and the appropriate law enforcement agency if you feel there
has been a violation of criminal law). Links:
http://www.nj.gov/oag/ca/comp.htm
https://rn.ftc.gov/pls/dod/wsolcq$.startup?Z_ORG_CODE=PU01

Of course, if you believe the matter involves a breach of the Registrar
Accreditation Agreement, you should also send a copy of the complaint to
ICANN via our internic registrar complaint form (at www.internic.net). Be
sure to include the affected domain name(s) as it is nearly impossible for
us to research a complaint without that.

While we cannot resolve individual complaints due to the volume we receive,
we do use the data collected through the registrar problem report form to
take compliance action as appropriate. Such action could include
de-accreditation, assuming the circumstances warrant such action under the
RAA. Unfortunately, letters like yours below, which do not include any
actionable specifics or domain names, are not particularly helpful to our
compliance efforts, nor would they be particularly helpful to resolution of
your specific complaint. I appreciate your frustration; we just need
greater detail.

Thank you for taking the time to write to ICANN about your concerns. I hope
you find this information helpful. Please let me know if I can be of
further assistance.

Best regards,


Mike Zupke
Registrar Liaison Manager
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

My Email Back to Mike Zupke Jan 25, 2007

Mike,

Thanks for getting back to me.  Whether or not ICANN is a federal or state agency, ICANN is lending to the credibility of Registerfly.  Will you be satisfied having ICANN named in the lawsuit?  After another meeting with my attorney yesterday evening and him looking over the entire case, he says that ICANN can and will be named in the suit because ICANN has given Registerfly the stamp of approval which should have never been given in the first place.  So in essence we have a company that has been committing fraud with domain names and the ICANN stamp on their site is supposed lend to the credibility of the registrar.  The attorneys call this "unjust enrichment".

Seeing the ICANN logo on a domain Registrar gives the domain customers a sense of peace that they are doing business with a company that has to adhere to the Laws of the internet.  While the customer may or may not be aware of what ICANN does, they see that logo and this is the point where ICANN lends to Registerfly's credibility (Unjust Enrichment).

3.7.2 Registrar shall abide by applicable laws and governmental regulations. - Fraud and theft are illegal!

3.7.7.8 Registrar shall agree that it will take reasonable precautions to protect Personal Data from loss, misuse, unauthorized access or disclosure, alteration, or destruction.

Paul V. at Registerfly posted my registrant information including first and last name in a public forum on Namepros which is in direct violation of the above.  I have a screenshot of this at my office that I'd be happy to send you.  He addressed me by  my account first and last name and address.

5.3.1 There was a material misrepresentation, material inaccuracy, or materially misleading statement in Registrar's application for accreditation or any material accompanying the application.

5.3.2 Registrar:

5.3.2.1 is convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction of a felony or other serious offense related to financial activities, or is judged by a court of competent jurisdiction to have committed fraud or breach of fiduciary duty, or is the subject of a judicial determination that ICANN reasonably deems as the substantive equivalent of those offenses; or

5.3.2.2 is disciplined by the government of its domicile for conduct involving dishonesty or misuse of funds of others.

5.3.3 Any officer or director of Registrar is convicted of a felony or of a misdemeanor related to financial activities, or is judged by a court to have committed fraud or breach of fiduciary duty, or is the subject of a judicial determination that ICANN deems as the substantive equivalent of any of these; provided, such officer or director is not removed in such circumstances.

5.3.4 Registrar fails to cure any breach of this Agreement (other than a failure to comply with a policy adopted by ICANN during the term of this Agreement as to which Registrar is seeking, or still has time to seek, review under Subsection 4.3.2 of whether a consensus is present) within fifteen working days after ICANN gives Registrar notice of the breach.

5.3.5 Registrar fails to comply with a ruling granting specific performance under Subsections 5.1 and 5.6.

5.3.6 Registrar continues acting in a manner that ICANN has reasonably determined endangers the stability or operational integrity of the Internet after receiving three days notice of that determination.

5.3.7 Registrar becomes bankrupt or insolvent.

This Agreement may be terminated in circumstances described in Subsections 5.3.1 - 5.3.6 above only upon fifteen days written notice to Registrar (in the case of Subsection 5.3.4 occurring after Registrar's failure to cure), with Registrar being given an opportunity during that time to initiate arbitration under Subsection 5.6 to determine the appropriateness of termination under this Agreement. In the event Registrar initiates litigation or arbitration concerning the appropriateness of termination by ICANN, the termination shall be stayed an additional thirty days to allow Registrar to obtain a stay of termination under Subsection 5.6 below. If Registrar acts in a manner that ICANN reasonably determines endangers the stability or operational integrity of the Internet and upon notice does not immediately cure, ICANN may suspend this Agreement for five working days pending ICANN's application for more extended specific performance or injunctive relief under Subsection 5.6. This Agreement may be terminated immediately upon notice to Registrar in circumstance described in Subsection 5.3.7 above.

If ICANN doesn't recognize a code of conduct and allow Registerfly to continue acting under section 5.3.6. 

"I am very familiar with the many websites and web-forums that have sprung up over time regarding shoddy and inadequate service provided by RegisterFly.  I am also familiar with the types of specific complaints ICANN receive regarding this registrar / reseller." - Mike Zupke

This above says it all.

Now, please do the right thing. Enough is enough. We are preparing to sue Registerfly and ICANN will be named unless other actions are taken by ICANN to assure that companies like Registerfly have to adhere to a code of conduct and all applicable laws. You've seen it yourself as you've stated in this correspondence and ICANN is aware of the the "shoddy and inadequate service" of Registerfly. Although you can't put them in jail you have the control to remove your logo and accreditation off of their site. Are you going to stand beside Registerfly in court defending them and yourselves after you've already recognized the problems.

Mike, I'm not trying to be a dink here. All I'm looking to do is to preserve the quality of the internet and the domain name industry. ICANN needs to set an example of what's not allowed and not be telling the world that ICANN supports even the fraudulent companies.

Thank you for reading. I'll be looking for a response and I hope that the ICANN members step into this and do something about it rather than sitting there on your hands while this company defrauds the general public.


Kind Regards,

Admin

No Response from Mike Zupke!

Sent by me on February 1, 2007

Mike,

I never heard back from you on the last email which is just below this one.  This issue cannot be ignored because it's not going to go away.  Ignoring a situation like this is not advisable.  I've taken the time to quote just a min of the rules that Registerfly has broken and it's time for some action.

What specific steps is ICANN going to take with Registerfly?  How many signatures or complaints do we need to send you in order to strip this accreditation away from Registerfly?  Exactly what do we need to do?  Based on what you've said, ICANN is aware of the problems... we all need to be aware that ICANN is taking some sort of action to prevent this stuff in the future.

Also, please don't direct me to call Glen because no one at Registerfly answers their phone after being on hold for hours on end conveniently being disconnected after 40 minutes or so.  Registerfly was invited to respond on this site to accusations and furthermore, I offered to assist registerfly with the current urgent matters via registerflies.com.  It's obvious they do not care, otherwise they would do something about it.  Please Mike, get with the program... not Glen and not Kevin are worth even attempting to contact because many of us already have tried.

Please respond as this is an urgent matter.

Kind Regards,

Admin 

I've also forwarded each of these emails to the Ombudsman.  I will update this post with the response......  Please feel free to comment and leave your own message for ICANN.

My Email Back to Mike Zupke Feb 1, 2007

I offered you what assistance I could and you threatened lawsuits.
Accordingly, you will not receive further correspondence.

Regards,

Mike Zupke
Registrar Liaison Manager
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers