Our Situation... Site for Sale

UncutBucksMike · 2007-06-10, 01:52 PM

First, for those who haven't heard our home was the subject of a search warrant a little over a week ago. The search warrant was for a zoning violation of the city's “Sexually Oriented Business” provisions. These provisions were enacted to control the operation of “retail” establishments that deal in sexually oriented materials, but are being written broadly enough so as to impact adult websites. We were unaware as to these restrictions (which was our own fault) and that is why we were living there. Upon further research, I am seeing this language more and more as I look at other small town zoning ordinances. So, for those who feel that we were just careless or dumb, you might want to look at your own local restrictions. This whole process was initiated by a former member who discovered Jen's real name and address and then began posting it on various places around the web. He had purchased various items and private chats, and after these posting began appearing was repeatedly offered a refund and repeatedly refused. He evidently contacted both the press and the local officials to try and cause as much trouble as possible.

I was contacted by a reporter two days before the “raid” telling me that they had the information from this person and were going to run a story about fraud. After providing him with copies of emails from this member clearly showing that there had been no fraud and emphasizing to them that the publication of our names and address added nothing to the story and placed my family in jeopardy, we were served with the warrant, and amazingly a photographer from that newspaper was strategically hiding across the parking lot with a telephoto lens to capture the moment as it occurred. Five armed officers in bulletproof vests in unmarked cars had encircled my home and moved in to secure the scene. Contrary to all the bullshit which has been reported, I asked and was allowed to have Jen leave and remove the children from this situation. After they removed and seized computers digital cameras, camcorders, personal records, checkbooks, etc. they left. No charges were filed, no arrests made, no citations issued. I was stunned that the city felt that 5 officers spending 5 hours to raid us for a zoning violation was a reasonable use of their time.

Anyway, that indicated to us that their intent was to push this much further than was reasonable. We felt that the safety of our children was more important than anything else. So at this point we decided that we were leaving their jurisdiction immediately. We got the children out of the state and returned to gather up critical belongings. Obviously, we were paranoid over the whole process, but subsequent news reports and the ridiculous statements made, have justified our decision. Besides, knowing that these ordinances existed we could not in good conscience continue to run the site while there.

That is the basic recap of what occurred. Now to our current situation. As I said we have been researching zoning ordinances in other towns and in many cases are finding similar ordinances. That in conjunction with our identities being “out there” has lead us to consider selling the site and all the content. That would remove us from operating a “Sexually Oriented Business” restrictions. The site currently has 65 videos and 115 pic sets and all associated code that I have written. Due to the fact that all raw video and pics were seized, the content on the site is the only version available at this time. During initial press coverage, traffic jumped dramatically and probably will again as further progress occurs in their investigation. We would also consider producing additional content on an ongoing basis, if someone was interested and terms were right.

If you're interested, take a look at the site and contact me.

Thanks,
Mike

Bill · 2007-06-10, 02:29 PM

Sorry to hear that man.

Cops are hilarious and mentally ill - a big raid for an offense with a maximum penalty of a $250 fine.

Your story is mentioned by the FSC in their latest newsletter.

http://www.freespeechcoalition.com/xpress/X22/

pussyluver · 2007-06-11, 12:27 AM

Experiences like this scare me. Fear more and more over zealous legal action will be taken against webmasters. Most webmasters can't afford all the legal support required to really stay in biz and avoid these swat team tactics. The tip to the press was just plain wrong IMO.

Adult webmasters contribute to the economy, pay real estate taxes and all. Well seems I'm climbing on the soap box to preach the the choir here.

Good luck with the sale. Sorry about your hassel with law enforcement.

jonnydoe · 2007-06-11, 03:32 PM

What a bunch of bullshit...sorry to hear it Mike and Jen.

tigermom · 2007-06-13, 07:53 AM

Sorry to hear about this

I read an article about it and was appalled by the comments made by the cops. Talking about Jen's lingerie that they found and stuff. Don't people deserve some privacy even when the police breaks in and runs a search? Disgusting, I wonder if you could sue them for harassment, abuse whatever, cause they deserve to be nailed.

Toby · 2007-06-13, 09:34 AM

Mike & Jen,

I hope this all gets sorted out favorably and you and your family can move on.

Toby

Bobc01 · 2007-06-13, 09:37 AM

Wow, i had no idea how tough they were getting with adult webmasters in the US.

I've just had a look and i'm struggling to see anything wrong with the sites and theme.

All this because of one fucked up member who probably has a psychiatric history.
If you don't find anywhere there then move to the UK.

emmanuelle · 2007-06-13, 10:23 AM

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Have you considered running the business from a properly zoned office? You may be able to rent a room from a strip club or adult bookstore.

UncutBucksMike · 2007-06-13, 10:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by emmanuelle

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Have you considered running the business from a properly zoned office? You may be able to rent a room from a strip club or adult bookstore.

Amazingly, this is exactly what you can't do based on most of the zoning ordinances I've read. These things are now becoming very common in local ordinances. Usually, there is a requirement that one "sexually oriented business" can't be close to another. For example, one ordinance reads that you can't be within 500 feet of any residential zone, church, school, playground or within 1000 feet of another SOB. The other common thing you find, is there "justification" section for the ordinance citing increased crime, prostitution, and devaluing of surrounding properties. And of course none of these are even applicable to our type business.

Jim · 2007-06-13, 10:43 AM

Mike, if you are still going to produce content for a new owner, why not just find a partner that will keep it in their name?

Incredible_Wil · 2007-06-14, 12:46 AM

Wow, that's absolutely crazy. I hope everything ends up for the best..

SheepGuy · 2007-06-14, 01:22 AM

Shit. Can anyone say "Police State"?
Sorry to hear about that whole mess. Have you considered getting the ACLU involved?

Maj. Stress · 2007-06-14, 02:01 AM

Mike, Have you considered living outside of city limits? I'm not sure of what ordinances counties have but I have seen many adult stores on the side of the interstates in rural areas. Hopefully you can figure something out. I hate to see someone spend that much time and money to get a program going to have it shot to hell by stupid shit like that.

pussyluver · 2007-06-15, 04:12 PM

Hey Mike, How about an update. Any good news? This affects many of us on how we do biz. Interested, if you found any solutions or ran into even more shit.

Thanks and best of luck on the mess.

papagmp · 2007-06-16, 03:03 PM

Ouch - another good reason to keep a complete copy of all originals "off-site". I started this origianlly in case of fire but I guess the cops can "burn" you too.

UncutBucksMike · 2007-06-17, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pussyluver

Hey Mike, How about an update. Any good news? This affects many of us on how we do biz. Interested, if you found any solutions or ran into even more shit.

Thanks and best of luck on the mess.

Still have yet to hear anything more from them. And, they have not ran anymore stories lately. Still lots of Cincinnati webmail running around driving traffic though.

We are finally going to be in our own place in the next two weeks as it has been hell staying with family that is for sure. We are still working on getting equipment so I can get shooting again (and, I am really missing my live shows and interacting with members). Luckily the sign ups and rebills are still going well through the transition. It has scared me from doing any BIz at home and I will ALWAYS keep a back up copy stored in a safe box somewhere of all my content. So, Papa you are very smart. The sad thing is we had discussed going and buying yet another hard drive and placing it somewhere the week before all of this happened as we were afraid of Fire. But, wow did we get burnt. We couldnt find a sole buyer as I just couldnt bring myself to sell off the site I had worked on for almost 2 yrs for the whopping $15k I had been offered so we decided to try to sell some of the content for non-exclusive. I really didnt want to have a non-exclusive site but, it is the only way we can afford to get up and going again. Thanks so much for all of the support and I urge all of you to check you local zoning and 2257. After researching some of the larger affilate programs and checking google maps and town zoning, many of you are not compliant. I wouldnt wish this on anyone so double check everyone. Ok, I have really rambled, lol. Sorry.

Hugs,
Jen

UncutBucksMike · 2007-06-17, 11:44 PM

And... Here is a post we made about the content if any of you are interested:
Since we seem to be having trouble finding someone who wants our site exclusively, we've decided to make all the content available non-exclusively. Unfortunately, we need to get cash to get set back up with cameras, equipment, etc. so here's a chance to get enough content to set up your own solo site or add something to your members area. I've just taken an inventory of everything and here is what there is.

There is about 14 gigs of content. There are 113 pic sets for a total of 10,775 pics. These are either 1536x2048 or 1536x2304. There are 66 movies with a total running time of nearly 13 hours. these are encoded as WMV's at 720x480, the last 9 are shot in HD and encoded at 1280x720. All of these currently have a watermark, so they will need to be cropped or a new watermark placed over the existing.

In order to get cash quickly I am selling it for $2000 per copy. I will limit the number of these that I am selling to 25. If you are seriously interested, I will get you a members area pass to see the actual content. Payment must be made by check or money order. I will make the content available for download as soon as I can get it up to the server in zipsets. I will supply the license and 2257 docs as soon as payment clears.

Hit me up and let's deal.

And Some Samples:
Here are links to 3 pics:

http://uncutbucks.com/0110_028.jpg
http://uncutbucks.com/0111_076.jpg
http://uncutbucks.com/0114_053.jpg

Here is a link to a small clip from one of the regular (720x480) movies:

http://uncutbucks.com/054_chunk_1.wmv

Here is a link to a small clip from one of the HD movies:

http://uncutbucks.com/065_chunk_1.wmv

Ramster · 2007-06-18, 08:38 AM

Mike, good luck on that. I may hit you up on ICQ later.

terry · 2007-06-18, 02:48 PM

Good Luck Mike and Jen.

pussyluver · 2007-06-20, 12:44 PM

The whole things wreaks of not being fair. I can see taking the content maybe??? But your equipment WITHOUT complete due process!! I don't know all the legal details, but doesn't seem to be in compliance with the US Constitution as I read it. Guess you have to be an attorney...

emc2 · 2007-06-20, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pussyluver

The whole things wreaks of not being fair. I can see taking the content maybe??? But your equipment WITHOUT complete due process!! I don't know all the legal details, but doesn't seem to be in compliance with the US Constitution as I read it. Guess you have to be an attorney...

With our current adminstration our constitution isn't worth a roll of "disposable" paper :-(

2007-06-10, 01:52 PM	#1
UncutBucksMike Aw, Dad, you've done a lot of great things, but you're a very old man, and old people are useless Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 25	Our Situation... Site for Sale First, for those who haven't heard our home was the subject of a search warrant a little over a week ago. The search warrant was for a zoning violation of the city's “Sexually Oriented Business” provisions. These provisions were enacted to control the operation of “retail” establishments that deal in sexually oriented materials, but are being written broadly enough so as to impact adult websites. We were unaware as to these restrictions (which was our own fault) and that is why we were living there. Upon further research, I am seeing this language more and more as I look at other small town zoning ordinances. So, for those who feel that we were just careless or dumb, you might want to look at your own local restrictions. This whole process was initiated by a former member who discovered Jen's real name and address and then began posting it on various places around the web. He had purchased various items and private chats, and after these posting began appearing was repeatedly offered a refund and repeatedly refused. He evidently contacted both the press and the local officials to try and cause as much trouble as possible. I was contacted by a reporter two days before the “raid” telling me that they had the information from this person and were going to run a story about fraud. After providing him with copies of emails from this member clearly showing that there had been no fraud and emphasizing to them that the publication of our names and address added nothing to the story and placed my family in jeopardy, we were served with the warrant, and amazingly a photographer from that newspaper was strategically hiding across the parking lot with a telephoto lens to capture the moment as it occurred. Five armed officers in bulletproof vests in unmarked cars had encircled my home and moved in to secure the scene. Contrary to all the bullshit which has been reported, I asked and was allowed to have Jen leave and remove the children from this situation. After they removed and seized computers digital cameras, camcorders, personal records, checkbooks, etc. they left. No charges were filed, no arrests made, no citations issued. I was stunned that the city felt that 5 officers spending 5 hours to raid us for a zoning violation was a reasonable use of their time. Anyway, that indicated to us that their intent was to push this much further than was reasonable. We felt that the safety of our children was more important than anything else. So at this point we decided that we were leaving their jurisdiction immediately. We got the children out of the state and returned to gather up critical belongings. Obviously, we were paranoid over the whole process, but subsequent news reports and the ridiculous statements made, have justified our decision. Besides, knowing that these ordinances existed we could not in good conscience continue to run the site while there. That is the basic recap of what occurred. Now to our current situation. As I said we have been researching zoning ordinances in other towns and in many cases are finding similar ordinances. That in conjunction with our identities being “out there” has lead us to consider selling the site and all the content. That would remove us from operating a “Sexually Oriented Business” restrictions. The site currently has 65 videos and 115 pic sets and all associated code that I have written. Due to the fact that all raw video and pics were seized, the content on the site is the only version available at this time. During initial press coverage, traffic jumped dramatically and probably will again as further progress occurs in their investigation. We would also consider producing additional content on an ongoing basis, if someone was interested and terms were right. If you're interested, take a look at the site and contact me. Thanks, Mike

2007-06-11, 03:32 PM	#4
jonnydoe Stupid risks make life worth living Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 381	What a bunch of bullshit...sorry to hear it Mike and Jen. __________________ Adult Hosting Submission Programs Adult Sponsors

2007-06-13, 07:53 AM	#5
tigermom You can now put whatever you want in this space :) Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 893	Sorry to hear about this I read an article about it and was appalled by the comments made by the cops. Talking about Jen's lingerie that they found and stuff. Don't people deserve some privacy even when the police breaks in and runs a search? Disgusting, I wonder if you could sue them for harassment, abuse whatever, cause they deserve to be nailed. __________________ XLEF

2007-06-13, 09:34 AM	#6
Toby Lonewolf Internet Sales Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Houston Posts: 4,826	Mike & Jen, I hope this all gets sorted out favorably and you and your family can move on. Toby __________________ Latex Vixens Babes In Boots Well Heeled Women Dressing For Sex Stocking Vixens

2007-06-14, 12:46 AM	#11
Incredible_Wil Rock stars ... is there anything they don't know? Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 10	Wow, that's absolutely crazy. I hope everything ends up for the best.. __________________

2007-06-10, 02:29 PM	#2
Bill Selling porn allows me to stay in a constant state of Bliss - ain't that a trip! Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 3,914	Sorry to hear that man. Cops are hilarious and mentally ill - a big raid for an offense with a maximum penalty of a $250 fine. Your story is mentioned by the FSC in their latest newsletter. http://www.freespeechcoalition.com/xpress/X22/

2007-06-11, 12:27 AM	#3
pussyluver I'm going to the backseat of my car with the woman I love, and I won't be back for TEN MINUTES Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 81	Experiences like this scare me. Fear more and more over zealous legal action will be taken against webmasters. Most webmasters can't afford all the legal support required to really stay in biz and avoid these swat team tactics. The tip to the press was just plain wrong IMO. Adult webmasters contribute to the economy, pay real estate taxes and all. Well seems I'm climbing on the soap box to preach the the choir here. Good luck with the sale. Sorry about your hassel with law enforcement.

2007-06-13, 09:37 AM	#7
Bobc01 Banned Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Hell Posts: 817	Wow, i had no idea how tough they were getting with adult webmasters in the US. I've just had a look and i'm struggling to see anything wrong with the sites and theme. All this because of one fucked up member who probably has a psychiatric history. If you don't find anywhere there then move to the UK.

2007-06-13, 10:23 AM	#8
emmanuelle 0100011101100101011001010 1101011001000000100001101 1010000110100101100011 Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Montreal Posts: 1,441	Sorry to hear about your troubles. Have you considered running the business from a properly zoned office? You may be able to rent a room from a strip club or adult bookstore.

2007-06-13, 10:43 AM	#10
Jim Banned Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Mohawk, New York Posts: 19,477	Mike, if you are still going to produce content for a new owner, why not just find a partner that will keep it in their name?

2007-06-14, 01:22 AM	#12
SheepGuy It's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 2,527	Shit. Can anyone say "Police State"? Sorry to hear about that whole mess. Have you considered getting the ACLU involved? __________________ If the Environment was a bank, they would have saved it by now.

2007-06-14, 02:01 AM	#13
Maj. Stress Progress rarely comes in buckets, it normally comes in teaspoons Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Dark Side Of Naboo Posts: 1,289	Mike, Have you considered living outside of city limits? I'm not sure of what ordinances counties have but I have seen many adult stores on the side of the interstates in rural areas. Hopefully you can figure something out. I hate to see someone spend that much time and money to get a program going to have it shot to hell by stupid shit like that.

2007-06-15, 04:12 PM	#14
pussyluver I'm going to the backseat of my car with the woman I love, and I won't be back for TEN MINUTES Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 81	Hey Mike, How about an update. Any good news? This affects many of us on how we do biz. Interested, if you found any solutions or ran into even more shit. Thanks and best of luck on the mess.

2007-06-16, 03:03 PM	#15
papagmp That'll teach you to leave your sister unattended..... Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Colorado Springs Posts: 1,803	Ouch - another good reason to keep a complete copy of all originals "off-site". I started this origianlly in case of fire but I guess the cops can "burn" you too. __________________ Submit: OutlawFreePorn

2007-06-17, 11:44 PM	#17
UncutBucksMike Aw, Dad, you've done a lot of great things, but you're a very old man, and old people are useless Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 25	And... Here is a post we made about the content if any of you are interested: Since we seem to be having trouble finding someone who wants our site exclusively, we've decided to make all the content available non-exclusively. Unfortunately, we need to get cash to get set back up with cameras, equipment, etc. so here's a chance to get enough content to set up your own solo site or add something to your members area. I've just taken an inventory of everything and here is what there is. There is about 14 gigs of content. There are 113 pic sets for a total of 10,775 pics. These are either 1536x2048 or 1536x2304. There are 66 movies with a total running time of nearly 13 hours. these are encoded as WMV's at 720x480, the last 9 are shot in HD and encoded at 1280x720. All of these currently have a watermark, so they will need to be cropped or a new watermark placed over the existing. In order to get cash quickly I am selling it for $2000 per copy. I will limit the number of these that I am selling to 25. If you are seriously interested, I will get you a members area pass to see the actual content. Payment must be made by check or money order. I will make the content available for download as soon as I can get it up to the server in zipsets. I will supply the license and 2257 docs as soon as payment clears. Hit me up and let's deal. And Some Samples: Here are links to 3 pics: http://uncutbucks.com/0110_028.jpg http://uncutbucks.com/0111_076.jpg http://uncutbucks.com/0114_053.jpg Here is a link to a small clip from one of the regular (720x480) movies: http://uncutbucks.com/054_chunk_1.wmv Here is a link to a small clip from one of the HD movies: http://uncutbucks.com/065_chunk_1.wmv

2007-06-18, 08:38 AM	#18
Ramster Life is good Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Ottawa, Canada Posts: 11,704	Mike, good luck on that. I may hit you up on ICQ later. __________________ Pornstar Legends \| Live Cam Model Shows \| Hungarian Girls Skype: robmurray999

2007-06-18, 02:48 PM	#19
terry You can now put whatever you want in this space :) Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Montreal Posts: 5,883	Good Luck Mike and Jen. __________________ Stop That 9 To 5 Go Green Grocery Store

2007-06-20, 12:44 PM	#20
pussyluver I'm going to the backseat of my car with the woman I love, and I won't be back for TEN MINUTES Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 81	The whole things wreaks of not being fair. I can see taking the content maybe??? But your equipment WITHOUT complete due process!! I don't know all the legal details, but doesn't seem to be in compliance with the US Constitution as I read it. Guess you have to be an attorney...