What Happened?
Taymour Aghtai has recently faced scrutiny for his involvement in a hoax related to the Lynn Valley Care Centre, which resulted in legal consequences for obstructing justice. According to a report from Vancouver Is Awesome, Aghtai pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice after it was revealed that he spread false information, which caused panic and disrupted local authorities’ efforts during a sensitive time. The incident highlights Aghtai’s willingness to deceive the public for personal or ideological reasons, regardless of the impact on the community.
Following his guilty plea, Aghtai has reportedly attempted to minimize the visibility of his actions by censoring negative news and erasing traces of the incident from his online footprint. By employing various tactics to suppress damaging information, including the use of legal threats and attempts to discredit journalists, Aghtai appears intent on rewriting his narrative to avoid accountability. His actions demonstrate an ongoing effort to evade the consequences of his misleading behavior, raising questions about his credibility and intentions.
Analyzing the Fake Copyright Notice(s)
Our team collects and analyses fraudulent copyright takedown requests, legal complaints, and other efforts to remove critical information from the internet. Through our investigative reporting, we examine the prevalence and operation of an organized censorship industry, predominantly funded by criminal entities, oligarchs, and disreputable businesses or individuals. Our findings allow internet users to gain insight into these censorship schemes’ sources, methods, and underlying objectives.
List of Fake Copyright Notices for Taymour Aghtai
| Number of Fake DMCA Notice(s) | 1 |
| Lumen Database Notice(s) | https://lumendatabase.org/notices/40947247 |
| Sender(s) | Jaxon Masel |
| Date(s) | Apr 18, 2024 |
| Fake Link(s) Used by Scammers | https://www.tumblr.com/occrpnewsagency/748168338056839168/lynn-valley-care-centre-hoaxer-pleads-guilty-to |
| Original Link(s) Targeted | https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/bc-news/lynn-valley-care-centre-hoaxer-pleads-guilty-to-obstruction-of-justice-6590457 |
Evidence and Screenshots
How do we investigate fake DMCA notices?
To accomplish this, we utilize the OSINT Tool provided by FakeDMCA.com and the Lumen API for Researchers, courtesy of the Lumen Database.
FakeDMCA.com is the work of an independent team of research students and cybersecurity professionals, developed under Project UnCensor. Their OSINT Tool, designed to uncover and analyze takedown notices, represents a significant step forward in combating these abusive practices. It has become a valuable resource, increasingly relied upon by journalists and law enforcement agencies across the United States.
Lumen, on the other hand, is an independent research initiative dedicated to studying takedown notices and other legal demands related to online content removal. The project, which operates under the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University, plays a crucial role in tracking and understanding the broader implications of such requests.
What was Taymour Aghtai trying to hide?
Taymour Aghtai is an individual who recently gained public attention for his involvement in a hoax involving the Lynn Valley Care Centre in British Columbia. Aghtai was accused of spreading false information during a sensitive time, which led to his guilty plea for obstruction of justice. The incident took place during a period when the public was especially vulnerable, and Aghtai’s actions contributed to confusion and panic. This legal case has cast a shadow over Aghtai’s public image, highlighting his willingness to engage in misleading behavior with serious consequences for the community.
According to the report from Vancouver Is Awesome, Taymour Aghtai appears to be trying to suppress several adverse details about his involvement in the Lynn Valley Care Centre hoax and the subsequent legal actions:
- Hoax Involving Lynn Valley Care Centre: Aghtai was directly involved in spreading false information about the Lynn Valley Care Centre, which led to confusion and panic during a sensitive time. His actions included disseminating misinformation that disrupted local authorities’ operations, particularly affecting the healthcare community. This misinformation had a detrimental effect on efforts to manage the situation, leading to a sense of fear and mistrust in the community. Aghtai’s role in the hoax ultimately led to his being charged with and pleading guilty to obstruction of justice.
- Legal Consequences and Guilty Plea for Obstruction of Justice: Taymour Aghtai pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, a serious charge that carries significant legal implications. By admitting guilt, Aghtai acknowledged that his actions were unlawful and had interfered with official proceedings. The plea reflects the gravity of the offense and highlights his willingness to obstruct justice by spreading harmful misinformation. Despite this, Aghtai appears to be actively trying to reduce public awareness of his guilty plea to avoid lasting damage to his reputation.
- Efforts to Suppress Damaging News: Following his guilty plea, Aghtai has allegedly taken steps to remove or suppress articles and news stories that detail his involvement in the hoax and the subsequent legal ramifications. This includes attempts to discredit sources that reported on the incident and potentially using legal threats to silence criticism. Aghtai’s efforts to censor negative publicity suggest an attempt to maintain a positive image and distance himself from the actions that led to his legal troubles.
- Damage to Reputation and Negative Publicity: The incident has significantly harmed Aghtai’s reputation, both within the community and in broader public perception. The adverse news coverage of the hoax and the guilty plea has led to widespread criticism, painting him as someone willing to deceive the public for personal or ideological reasons. These negative reviews and complaints about his actions have further fueled his attempts to conceal or downplay the incident.
Aghtai’s attempts to hide this adverse news and censor damaging information about his involvement in the Lynn Valley Care Centre hoax illustrate a broader strategy of avoiding accountability for his actions. His behavior not only misled the public but also disrupted crucial healthcare operations, underscoring the seriousness of his conduct. Efforts to suppress these details raise questions about Aghtai’s integrity and his willingness to take responsibility for his actions.
Only Taymour Aghtai benefits from this crime.
Since the fake copyright takedown notices were designed to remove negative content for Taymour Aghtai from Google, we assume Taymour Aghtai or someone associated with Taymour Aghtai is behind this scam. It is often a fly-by-night Online Reputation agency working on behalf of Taymour Aghtai. In this case, Taymour Aghtai, at best, will be an “accomplice” or an “accessory” to the crime. The specific laws may vary depending on the jurisdiction. Still, the legal principle generally holds that if you actively participate in planning, encouraging, or facilitating a crime, you can be charged with it, even if you did not personally commit it.
How do we counteract this malpractice?
Once we ascertain the involvement of Taymour Aghtai (or actors working on behalf of Taymour Aghtai), we will inform Taymour Aghtai of our findings via Electronic Mail.
Our preliminary assessment suggests that Taymour Aghtai may have engaged a third-party reputation management agency or expert, which, either independently or under direct authorization from Taymour Aghtai, initiated efforts to remove adverse online content, including potentially fraudulent DMCA takedown requests. We will extend an opportunity to Taymour Aghtai to provide details regarding their communications with the agency or expert, as well as the identification of the individual(s) responsible for executing these false DMCA notices.
Failure to respond in a timely manner will necessitate a reassessment of our initial assumptions. In such an event, we will be compelled to take appropriate legal action to rectify the unlawful conduct and take the following steps –
- Inform Google about the fraud committed against them.
- Inform the victims of the fake DMCA about their websites.
- Inform relevant law enforcement agencies
- File counter-notices on Google to reinstate the ‘removed’ content
- Publish copies of the ‘removed’ content on our network of 50+ websites
By investigating the fake DMCA takedown attempts, we hope to shed light on the reputation management industry, revealing how Taymour Aghtai and companies like it may use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking them to allegations of fraud, tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking…
Since Taymour Aghtai made such efforts to hide something online, it seems fit to ensure that this article and our original review of Taymour Aghtai, including but not limited to user contributions, remain a permanent record for anyone interested in Taymour Aghtai.
A case perfect for the Streisand effect…
Potential Consequences for Taymour Aghtai
Under Florida Statute 831.01, the crime of Forgery is committed when a person falsifies, alters, counterfeits, or forges a document that carries “legal efficacy” with the intent to injure or defraud another person or entity.
Forging a document is considered a white-collar crime. It involves altering, changing, or modifying a document to deceive another person. It can also include passing along copies of documents that are known to be false. In many states in the US, falsifying a document is a crime punishable as a felony.
Additionally, under most laws, “fraud on the court” is where “a party has sentiently set in motion some unconscionable scheme calculated to interfere with the judicial system’s ability impartially to adjudicate a matter by improperly influencing the trier of fact or unfairly hampering the presentation of the opposing party’s claim or defense.” Cox v. Burke, 706 So. 2d 43, 46 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) (quoting Aoude v. Mobil Oil Corp., 892 F.2d 1115, 1118 (1st Cir. 1989)).
Is Taymour Aghtai Committing a Cyber Crime?
Yes, it seems so. Taymour Aghtai used multiple approaches to remove unwanted material from review sites and Google’s search results. Thanks to protections allowing freedom of speech in the United States, there are very few legal ways to do this. Taymour Aghtai could not eliminate negative reviews or search results that linked to them without a valid claim of defamation, copyright infringement, or some other clear breach of the law.
Faced with these limitations, some companies like Taymour Aghtai have gone to extreme lengths to fraudulently claim copyright ownership over a negative review in the hopes of taking it down.
Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. Taymour Aghtai is certainly keeping interesting company here….
The DMCA takedown process requires that copyright owners submit a takedown notice to an ISP identifying the allegedly infringing content and declaring, under penalty of perjury, that they have a good faith belief that the content is infringing. The ISP must then promptly remove or disable access to the content. The alleged infringer can then submit a counter-notice, and if the copyright owner does not take legal action within 10 to 14 days, the ISP can restore the content.
Since these platforms are predominantly based in the U.S., the complaints are typically made under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which requires online service providers and platforms to react immediately to reports or violations. Big Tech companies rarely have systems in place to assess the merit of each report. Instead, all bad actors need to do is clone a story, backdate it, and then demand the real thing be taken down.
Reputation Agency’s Modus Operandi
The fake DMCA notices we found always use the “back-dated article” technique. With this technique, the wrongful notice sender (or copier) creates a copy of a “true original” article and back-dates it, creating a “fake original” article (a copy of the true original) that, at first glance, appears to have been published before the true original.
Then, based on the claim that this backdated article is the “original,” the scammers send a DMCA to the relevant online service providers (e.g. Google), alleging that the ‘true’ original is the copied or “infringing” article and that the copied article is the “original,” requesting the takedown of the ‘true’ original article. After sending the DMCA request, the person who sent the wrong notice takes down the fake original URL, likely to make sure that the article doesn’t stay online in any way. If the takedown notice is successful, the disappearance from the internet of information is most likely to be legitimate speech.
How did Taymour Aghtai purport this DMCA Fraud?
As an integral part of this scheme, the ‘reputation management’ company hired by Taymour Aghtai creates a website that purports to be a ‘news’ site. This site is designed to look legitimate at a glance, but any degree of scrutiny reveals it as the charade it is.
The company copies the ‘negative’ content and posts it “on the fake ‘news’ site, attributing it to a separate author,” then gives it “a false publication date on the ‘news’ website that predated the original publication.
The reputation company then sent Google a Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice claiming the original website infringed copyright. After a cursory examinat
