N.J. firm made misleading websites in names of multiple Canadians and an alleged CRA scammer

If his Google Scholar illustration is to beryllium believed, Louis Arriola is simply a prolific scientist, having contributed to much than 700 scholarly articles astir a wide scope of unrelated disciplines from economics to precocious nanotechnology. 

According to the profile, he contributed to a PhD dissertation connected the automotive industry before he turned 9 years old. 

While the papers appear to beryllium real, Arriola's contribution to the probe is questionable. His sanction does not look connected the archetypal work successful the 20 astir caller entries connected his illustration and a university prof credited on more than 100 of the papers confirmed Arriola was not involved.

An probe by CBC's The Fifth Estate has recovered that Arriola is among much than 100 people, including aggregate Canadians, with a akin signifier of spam and mendacious web content surrounding them. Website registration records, online advertizing information and connections betwixt fake societal media profiles indicate that signifier points to a New Jersey estimation absorption steadfast called cleanyourname.com

David Rosenberg of Lakewood, N.J., who operates cleanyourname.com, advertises connected his LinkedIn leafage that helium tin "delete online antagonistic info fast," and that "by creating caller and applicable content," his institution is capable to propulsion antagonistic online accusation "further down the hunt results successful Google, Yahoo and Bing."

A LinkedIn station from Rosenberg states that only 7 per cent of radical spell beyond the archetypal leafage of hunt results.

"This meant that for estimation management, if we pushed down a antagonistic to the 3rd page," helium wrote, "almost nary 1 would spot it."

In Arriola's case, looking beyond the archetypal leafage of results and searching nationalist records databases shows a agelong past of ineligible troubles. 

An affidavit from an worker of the Canada Revenue Agency, submitted to Federal Court successful 2020, says that Arriola was the relation of a "paper company" with "no existent concern activity" progressive successful a taxation "scheme" that saw the bureau wage retired $63 cardinal successful what it called "illegitimate" refunds. 

Arriola besides was convicted successful 2009 in California for a telecom-related fraud and has been named successful civilian lawsuits successful aggregate U.S. states that were pursuing him and companies helium controlled for wealth that was loaned and allegedly ne'er paid back.

His Google Scholar illustration is 1 portion of an interconnected cloud of misleading and spam websites. Blog posts astir him nexus to an creator profile advertising banal images arsenic his "work," as good arsenic accounts astatine video sharing platforms and a website containing his sanction — louisarriola.net — which has connections to Rosenberg of cleanyourname.com. 

The Fifth Estate has attempted to interaction Arriola in aggregate ways over the past 2 years but has received nary response. For this story, interaction was attempted via a LinkedIn illustration that was precocious active.

A bully woody of the accusation astir Arriola disposable online is true, making it hard to abstracted information from fiction. For instance, connected his IMDB profile, he is listed as enforcement shaper for the 2019 movie Rambo: Last Blood, a information supported by the quality of his sanction successful the extremity credits of the film.

"The full constituent present is to confuse people, confuse radical astir the information successful narration to this peculiar person," said Ahmed Al-Rawi, manager of The Disinformation Project astatine Simon Fraser University successful Burnaby, B.C.

"As consumers of information, arsenic readers, arsenic users of the internet, the anticipation is to factually recognize the satellite astir us," Al-Rawi said. 

"If what we are ending up speechmaking astir is fake, we volition person the incorrect content astir what is astir us, astir the world, astir the radical we deliberation we know."

IP code connections

Louisarriola.net was made disposable online by a server with a circumstantial IP address, similar a thoroughfare code for the internet.

The Fifth Estate sent a message to a telephone fig associated with David Rosenberg of cleanyourname.com, asking if helium was successful power of the astir 140 websites hosted astatine the aforesaid code arsenic louisarriola.net.

Within a week, each but 19 of those 140 sites, including Arriola's, were scattered to a assortment of caller IP addresses. Many had been astatine that archetypal IP code for aggregate years. 

Website registration records amusement that 14 of the 140 sites antecedently listed Rosenberg as registrant oregon administrator. Those records were made anonymous successful 2018, astir the aforesaid clip that Rosenberg's name was removed from his ain website — cleanyourname.com.

Many of the websites astatine the IP code followed a akin pattern, with the archetypal and past sanction of the idiosyncratic the website was astir successful the URL. 

A telephone telephone to the number associated with Rosenberg was answered by a antheral who declined to place himself.

"I deliberation you person the incorrect number," helium said during the 25-second call and hung up.

A lawyer claiming to correspond Rosenberg contacted The Fifth Estate, noting that helium was successful possession of questions sent via substance connection to that aforesaid telephone number. 

Since that telephone call, neither the lawyer nor Rosenberg person responded to consequent questions oregon correspondence.  

On the internet, "you tin marque up things and make a facade, make a full satellite successful bid to mislead radical oregon make a definite benignant of reality," Al-Rawi said. 

Artist profiles look online

In 2023, Dr. David Gerber, a gynecologist in midtown Toronto, was stated to person "engaged successful disgraceful, dishonourable oregon unprofessional behaviour with respect to 10 patients" by Ontario's doc regulator.

As the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario was investigating diligent complaints astir Gerber and pursuing action against him, creator profiles successful his sanction began appearing online. They claimed to show photographs, created by him, immoderate adjacent offering to merchantability the pictures at a circumstantial price.

However, the works were not his, and look to beryllium portion of a web of net contented created by Rosenberg. A fig of the photos connected Gerber's art illustration besides look connected a blog astatine drdavidgerbermd.com — a website that was hosted astatine the IP code linked to Rosenberg.

"After investigation, Dr. Gerber has learned that [a hunt motor optimization firm] successful the U.S. who helium retained from mid-2022 until August 2023, had without his knowledge, authorization oregon consent, created the sites," a lawyer for Gerber said successful effect to questions.

"Mr. Rosenberg was recommended to Dr. Gerber by a friend," the lawyer added successful a consequent email, stating that the physician "knew thing of Mr. Rosenberg oregon immoderate of his businesses anterior to this referral." 

While drdavidgerbermd.com was taken down pursuing archetypal questions astir it to Gerber, the site appears to person been reactivated when it was moved distant from the Rosenberg-connected IP address. 

"Mr. Rosenberg is nary longer responding to Dr. Gerber's communications to him," Gerber's lawyer said. 

"In respect of the websites and web pages and posts," helium said, "they each represent a signifier of impersonation, of which Dr. Gerber is the subject."

"Dr. Gerber is not," helium added, liable for "any website mill oregon the work of disinformation" or "the usage of spam oregon mendacious and misleading content."

Other Canadians who had websites astatine that code see a Calgary orthodontist who admitted to taking outgo for treatments and past not completing them and 2 concern professionals who ran into issues with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

A communications steadfast contacted The Fifth Estate regarding questions to those financiers, Marc Bistricer and Paul Zogala of Murchinson Ltd.

In respect to Rosenberg and cleanyourname.com, they said that "we person checked our vendor invoices during the clip play you suggested and neither Murchinson nor the individuals successful question ever hired this firm."

They declined to respond to further questions.

Bistricer, Zogala and Gerber each person profiles connected the creation sharing website Behance.com. Those profiles see "work" that is not their ain and links to a assortment of spam societal media profiles. Behance users tin station their ain work, and travel the enactment of different artists they are funny in. Bistricer, Zogala and Gerber's enactment is followed by a astir identical database of much than 50 accounts. 

Their shared followers see 5 accounts that are variations connected the sanction Mark Tompkins, arsenic good arsenic accounts for Jay Grieg, J. Grieg and Jason Allen Grieg. 

Twelve of their shared followers are individuals who themselves had websites astatine the IP address The Fifth Estate asked Rosenberg about.

"If radical recognize that what they are seeing is mostly fake," Al-Rawi, the subordinate prof from Simon Fraser University said, "this volition decidedly alteration their spot successful immoderate they read, adjacent erstwhile it comes from credible sources."