Skip to main content

Influencer’s bizarre plot to steal domain name results in hefty jail term

A social media influencer who resorted to extreme measures in a bid to secure a website domain name was this week given a 14-year jail term for his efforts.

The offender, Rossi Lorathio Adams II, 27, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, ran a social media company called State Snaps that he founded while a student at Iowa State University in 2015.

Recommended Videos

More than a million people followed his Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter accounts, which, according to the Department of Justice, “mostly contained images and videos of young adults engaged in crude behavior, drunkenness, and nudity.” The content featured mainly students at Iowa State University, and despite college officials’ protestations, Adams continued uploading material to the accounts.

ADAMS II, ROSSI LORATHIO 27
Image used with permission by copyright holder

With the sites becoming more popular, Adams decided he wanted to buy the doitforstate.com domain, as “do it for state” had become a popular slogan among his followers. And that’s where the trouble really started.

The domain was already owned by another Cedar Rapids resident, prompting Adams to embark on a campaign to try to obtain it.

When the domain owner refused to sell it for what Adams deemed to be a reasonable price, the offender threatened one of the domain owner’s friends by sending him gun emojis after he used the domain to promote a number of events.

But the story took an even uglier turn in June 2017 when Adams called on his cousin, Sherman Hopkins Jr., to help. Hopkins, a convicted felon, was given the task of forcing the domain owner to hand over ownership of the domain.

House visit

Adams drove Hopkins to the victim’s home, handing his cousin a note explaining how to transfer ownership of the domain name.

The Department of Justice said in its report on the case, “When Hopkins entered the victim’s home in Cedar Rapids, he was carrying a cellular telephone, a stolen gun, a taser, and he was wearing a hat, pantyhose on his head, and dark sunglasses on his face.”

The report goes on to describe what happened next: “The victim was upstairs and heard Hopkins enter the home.  From the top of a staircase, the victim saw Hopkins with the gun on the first floor.  Hopkins shouted at the victim, who then ran into an upstairs bedroom and shut the door, leaning up against the door to stop Hopkins from entering.”

Pursuing the victim, Hopkins “kicked the door open, grabbed the victim by the arm and demanded to know where he kept his computer.” Hopkins then ordered the man to turn on the computer and get online.

Gunshots

The report said Hopkins “put the firearm against the victim’s head and and ordered him to follow the directions on the demand note.” A scuffle then took place in which the gun went off, firing a bullet into the victim’s leg. As the fight continued, the injured man managed to seize control of the gun before shooting Hopkins “multiple times” in the chest. He then called the police.

On Monday, December 9, Adams was handed a 14-year jail term after a jury earlier this year found him guilty of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by force, threats, and violence.

Hopkins survived the gunshots and was sentenced to 20 years in jail in 2018.

When it comes to securing a domain name, this is certainly one of the stranger stories we’ve heard, leading us to conclude that in some circumstances it may be better to simply think of another one.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
Bluesky finally adds a feature many had been waiting for
A blue sky with clouds.

Bluesky has been making a lot of progress in recent months by simplifying the process to sign up while at the same time rolling out a steady stream of new features.

As part of those continuing efforts, the social media app has just announced that users can now send direct messages (DMs).

Read more
Reddit just achieved something for the first time in its 20-year history
The Reddit logo.

Reddit’s on a roll. The social media platform has just turned a profit for the first time in its 20-year history, and now boasts a record 97.2 million daily active users, marking a year-over-year increase of 47%. A few times during the quarter, the figure topped 100 million, which Reddit CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman said in a letter to shareholders had been a “long-standing milestone” for the site.

The company, which went public in March, announced the news in its third-quarter earnings results on Tuesday.

Read more
Worried about the TikTok ban? This is how it might look on your phone
TikTok splash screen on an Android phone.

The US Supreme Court has decided to uphold a law that would see TikTok banned in the country on January 19. Now, the platform has issued an official statement, confirming that it will indeed shut down unless it gets some emergency relief from the outgoing president.

“Unless the Biden Administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement, unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19,” said the company soon after the court’s verdict.
So, what does going dark mean?
So, far, there is no official statement on what exactly TikTok means by “going dark.” There is a lot of speculation out there on how exactly the app or website will look once TikTok shutters in the US.

Read more