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Archiver > NYALBANY > 2003-08 > 1060081040


From: david stott <>
Subject: [NYALBANY] Re: info
Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2003 06:57:20 -0400


Dateline Iowa

By Register News Services
08/03/2003
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CEDAR RAPIDS

Web site owner charged with ID theft

A man was charged Friday with identity theft and money laundering after
a police investigation into two genealogy Web sites he ran.

Elias Abodeely II operated the Web sites FamilyDiscovery.com and
Genseekers.com from his home.

Abodeely would take e-mail addresses of people who posted to the sites'
forum pages, then send the victims an offer to become a member of the
Web site for a fee of $19.99 to $59.99.

The offer led victims to believe they had a five-day free trial period,
but they were unable to cancel their memberships. Their accounts were
already debited the fee amount.

Cedar Rapids police arrested Abodeely after a two-year investigation
into the genealogy Web site.

He also faces theft and ongoing criminal conduct charges.

Police said the investigation continues, and they expect additional
suspects to be charged.

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