Sex.com – one of the world's most desired web addresses – is once more up for sale, with owners Escom LLC in foreclosure.
The sex.com address has managed to create huge amounts of controversy over the years, and was bought last time out for a whopping $14 million (£9.1m).
It was Gary Kremen, best known as the founder of match.com, that got that particular fee, but only after years of wrangles involving fraudster Stephen Cohen – who made millions during the dotcom boom.
Fraud
Cohen had wrested control by persuading an employee of Network Solutions to change over ownership of the site with a fraudulent fax.
In November 2000, a court decided that Kremen was the legal owner and awarded him what amounted to $65 million, which prompted Cohen to flee the US before being returned and eventually jailed.
Escom LLC bought the name in 2006 – but despite having one of the most valuable online domains – the company is now bust and flogging its asset.
It's unlikely that it will retrieve the money that it paid for the domain, and you do have to wonder if the world is still typing sex.com into a url bar any more anyway.
Via The Register
