Sex.com usurper Stephen Michael Cohen received the message from the man, Judge James Ware, who issued a $65 million judgment against him in 2001. Ware told Cohen in federal court on Monday, “Your freedom is up to you.”
Since his Oct. 27 arrest in Tijuana, Mexico, Cohen has been occupying a jail cell – first in San Diego and now in San Jose – where he faces a civil contempt charge for fleeing the country four years ago to avoid the judgment. Although Cohen has pleaded poverty, Ware has made it clear that Cohen needs to come up with the money to pay the judgment or remain in the clink.
“The longer [Cohen] pleads poverty and refuses to account for what happened to his money, the longer he will be in jail,” says Tim Dillon, counsel for Sex.com’s owner, Gary Kremen.
“There will be several hearings over the next few months to see if [Cohen] has, in good faith, made all reasonable efforts to purge himself of contempt,” Dillon continues. “The court understands that we are in this for the long haul. Yesterday, we were just setting the initial groundwork for what must be done for [Cohen] to get out.”
Dillon will take an initial deposition from Cohen on Nov. 29 and return to court Dec. 5 for a follow-up hearing. After that, things become a bit murky.
“My lawyers have never come across [a civil contempt case]. In fact, most lawyers haven’t come across this, so the process is kind of unknown,” Kremen says. “It’s not your average, everyday problem.”
Cohen, who stole Sex.com in 1995 by sending a forged transfer letter to Network Solutions, isn’t your average con man.
In yesterday’s hearing, Cohen asked to serve as his own co-counsel, prompting Ware to question his understanding of the proceedings and advising him to discuss the decision with his lawyers.
Kremen believes Cohen’s request is based on a desire to speak for himself, but his legal team also has a checkered past. Although eligible to practice now, Cohen’s attorneys – John Alan Goalwin and Roger James Agajanian – both have had run-ins with the California Bar Association.
Goalwin’s license was suspended for 60 days in 2000 on 11 counts of misconduct ranging from not returning files to clients to mismanagement of funds. He was disciplined again in 2003 and received probation but no actual suspension.
Agajanian has a similarly colorful history. He was suspended in both 1990 and 1991. In 1993 disciplinary action was taken, and Agajanian was put on probation. In 1994 he resigned from the bar with charges pending.
