When last we heard of Stephen Cohen, it was June 2003. The U.S. Supreme Court had spurned his bid to appeal a $65 million judgment against him in the theft of Sex.com – and he was allegedly broke enough not to be able to pony up.
What a difference a year makes: Cohen reportedly donated $6.05 million to a Chinese orphanage in June 2004.
A news release by the Chinese state news agency Xinhua, dated June 18, 2004, said "billionaire ex-sex baron" Cohen donated the money to the Nanchang Orphanage in Jiangxi Province, presenting the money in the form of 5 million euros. The release also attributed to Chinese Foreign Affairs official Li Zhaoxing a statement that Cohen's donation was money "earned while he was the owner of a Website called Sex.com.
"I am pleased to inform the NPC that Mr. Cohen changed his career from that of a life of pornography to that of a respected businessman who turned into a welcomed philanthropist," the Li statement continued, after which he was cited as saying Cohen's "respected" business interests now included "corporations own(ing) several hotels, casinos, and a construction company who is doing business in China."
"This is the type of thing that happens to those who are targets of the con people, hucksters, and scammers of the world," Sex.com owner Gary Kremen told AVNOnline.com when reached for comment. "All should be vigilant as these type of people are sadly too common in the Adult entertainment space."
A private investigator working for Kremen did not return a call for comment before this story was posted. But Kremen’s attorney, Richard Idell, told AVNOnline.com they would "go through whatever legal maneuvers and challengers and procedures we have to" to compel Cohen to pay up on the judgment.
"Cohen claims to be living from time to time in Mexico, in Monaco, doing a lot of different things," Idell said. "And we hope he is very well off and will be able to respond to a $65 million judgment."
Cohen became notorious when he hijacked Sex.com domain name by way of a forged letter to Network Solutions (now VeriSign), which registered the domain to Kremen. Kremen won the domain back in 2000, when the judgment was levied against Cohen, who reportedly fled to Mexico at or around that time.
Last April, Kremen's battle with VeriSign over the original Sex.com theft was settled after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held VeriSign responsible to tort for the Sex.com theft. The sides did not disclose the monetary terms of the settlement, but Kremen did say he agreed to remove a cartoon disparaging VeriSign from the Sex.com Website, as well as removing information and commentary on the entire series of battles over the Sex.com theft.
