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Skeptic Brian Dunning Sentenced


Sweetpumper

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Leading skeptic Brian Dunning, of the popular Skeptoid podcast, has this week been sentenced to 15 months in a Federal prison for defrauding eBay of hundreds of thousands of dollars. His incarceration will begin on September 2.

dunning.jpg

http://www.dailygrail.com/Skepticism/2014/8/Leading-Skeptic-Brian-Dunning-Sentenced-15-Months-Prison-Fraud

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ha! Another Skeptic down! Like how they got Al Capone for tax evasion, the important thing is that they got him in the end,

[Disclaimer: It should be obvious that I'm being tongue in cheek, but you never can tell with some people. :blush: ]

Edited by Admiral Rhubarb
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You're in the no humor zone. Stop that.

What a charlatan and liar. It seems he's all about money.

Edited by Sweetpumper
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He was arrested and charged in 2013 I think. The Business Insider wrote an extensive article about it: http://www.businessi...g-2013-4?page=1

Well, for sure it's kind of ironic for someone involved in the skeptics movement and advocating against frauds in the paranormal. He ended up doing just that.

Edited by sam_comm
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At least he did not make it reading palms or cards, or doing " psychic readings "......

Now, they should be in prison....

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clearly "the man" hacked into his computer and placed information there to incriminate him.

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At least he did not make it reading palms or cards, or doing " psychic readings "......

Now, they should be in prison....

It does not really matter, fraud is fraud. The cover used to accomplish it, 'paranormal' or not is irrelevant, in this case he used Ebay and unsuspecting people by putting a cookie stealthily on their computers to make money. While palm or card readings may be ethically questionable, it's not considered illegal. People pay for a controversial service they should be aware is not backed up by any science.

I read on the skepchick blog that he's planning to resume his Skeptoid podcast as soon as he's out of prison. That can only undermine the credibility of the skeptics movement in my view.

Edited by sam_comm
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It does not really matter, fraud is fraud. The cover used to accomplish it, 'paranormal' or not is irrelevant, in this case he used Ebay and unsuspecting people by putting a cookie stealthily on their computers to make money. While palm or card readings may be ethically questionable, it's not considered illegal. People pay for a controversial service they should be aware is not backed up by any science.

I read on the skepchick blog that he's planning to resume his Skeptoid podcast as soon as he's out of prison. That can only undermine the credibility of the skeptics movement in my view.

I understand. But, if fraud is fraud ( like I was saying ) why do these " psychics " not get charged. The do not even use hidden cookies, they have websites.

Both are wrong.

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You're in the no humor zone. Stop that.

What a charlatan and liar. It seems he's all about money.

Like most of the guys doing the ufo circuit then.

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I understand. But, if fraud is fraud ( like I was saying ) why do these " psychics " not get charged. The do not even use hidden cookies, they have websites.

Both are wrong.

Selling a controversial service is not neceserily illegal. If people go willingly to consult a self-proclaimed psychic (and there are many who do so, even very educated people) that's entirely up to them. Wether or not the psychic has any kind of real supernatural ability is, without proof, a matter of personal belief. That's where the ethical debate takes place. But what's illegal is exploitation and extortion of money. So called ''psychics'' are arrested and charged on a regular basis for preying on vulnerable people. They've stolen the money, through means of manipulation or coercion.

See for exemple:

http://www.lasvegass...d-fraud-charge/

http://www.ktvz.com/...y-feds/26597658

http://doubtfulnews....0k-from-victim/

http://freethoughtbl...iminal-charges/

Edited by sam_comm
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You're in the no humor zone. Stop that.

What a charlatan and liar. It seems he's all about money.

Normally just the realm of UFOlogists we know, this guy ran a scam, got caught.

Shame they could not find any flaws in his skeptical arguments. Yes, scumbags exist on both sides of the fence, this is a shock to some people???? Never heard the phrase "There is one in every crowd"?

Good God, hundreds of UFOlogists outright make crap up and lie to people's faces to rip them off, and even in some cases kill them. One skeptic gets caught scamming a HUGE organisation, and you think this means UFO's are now all alien spaceships????? Like you never pinched something from KMart when you were a kid and told yourself "It's alright, they are a HUGE company and won't miss this tiny little thing - but they DID".

Thing is, this man has been caught, and is being punished. Imagine if every UFOlogists that lied, ripped people off and even killed others had to face the music? There would not be enough prisons. Just the AA Vandals alone would fill them up.

Yeah, he is a charlatan and a liar, don't trust ANYTHING he has to say about EBay. We all warm and fuzzy now?

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And the prize for the massive leap of assumption of the week goes to One skeptic gets caught scamming a HUGE organisation, and that means UFOs are now alien spaceships???!?! :clap:

How many Ufologists have killed people? :unsure2:

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And the prize for the massive leap of assumption of the week goes to One skeptic gets caught scamming a HUGE organisation, and that means UFOs are now alien spaceships???!?! :clap:

Ohh yeah, huge "assumption" That's why the thread in the UFO section. Come on man.

Dunning got caught defrauding EBay - everything he ever said must be a lie!! And where are we? The UFO section. Good God man, don't make out that you are that gullible.

How many Ufologists have killed people? :unsure2:

Heavens Gate, Scientology, Order of the Solar Temple and Servers of the Divine Plan have all killed people.

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And the prize for the massive leap of assumption of the week goes to One skeptic gets caught scamming a HUGE organisation, and that means UFOs are now alien spaceships???!?! :clap:

How many Ufologists have killed people? :unsure2:

I am not aware of people making that kind of claims on this thread. Can you point where someone did so because I must have missed it. Sweet Pumper just reported the story here, just like someone else has reported the story of the alleged abductee Stan Romanek facing criminal charges.

Ohh yeah, huge "assumption" That's why the thread in the UFO section. Come on man.

This thread could have been posted in pretty much any paranormal section of the forum. The guy touched various subjects in his podcast: UFO, Bigfoot, Ghosts, Psychics ect. It might have been best suited in Features News & Articles though.

Dunning got caught defrauding EBay - everything he ever said must be a lie!! And where are we? The UFO section. Good God man, don't make out that you are that gullible.

He got caught for planting cookies on unsuspecting people's computers too, visitors of various blogs, perhaps even his own. Thus stealing a small 5 Million dollars. (court document: http://www.benedelma...aint.pdf#page=8) The man is a millionair yet he asked for donation to fund a book about his podcast. (https://www.kickstar...racles?ref=live) That's questionable to say the least..

I am not sure how he can still be considered 'credible' when accusing of frauds and fakery in the paranormal world which he did on his podcasts.

Edited by sam_comm
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I am not aware of people making that kind of claims on this thread. Can you point where someone did so because I must have missed it. Sweet Pumper just reported the story here, just like someone else has reported the story of the alleged abductees Stan Romanek facing criminal charges.

It's not on this thread, but it happens with both sides, it happens with both believers and skeptics, there are people out there who think "Since he's a fraud, you can automatically discredit everything else he did", instead of his crimes and his accomplishments separately

It's kind of like when a great sportsman or entertainer gets accused of a horrible crime, a lot of people will start questioning their legacy, it just happens.

He got caught for planting cookies on unsuspecting people's computers too, visitors of various blogs, perhaps even his own. Thus stealing a small 5 Million dollars. I am not sure how the man can still be considered 'credible' when accusing of frauds and fakery in the paranormal world which he did on his podcasts.

See ?

Can I ask you about your views on him prior to this fraud ? were you aware of him ? did you follow his podcasts/blog or anything ? More importantly, did you think he was credible at all ? (If I may ask)

Edited by Crow T. Sharkbot
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Heavens Gate, Scientology, Order of the Solar Temple and Servers of the Divine Plan have all killed people.

Not sure I'd consider them ufologists, more like UFO fanatics or E.T. Nuts.

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Oh, golly. Yes, he's a fraudster on everything except on what I agree with him on!

That's how that works, right?

Chicken_no_head.gif

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I am not aware of people making that kind of claims on this thread. Can you point where someone did so because I must have missed it. Sweet Pumper just reported the story here, just like someone else has reported the story of the alleged abductee Stan Romanek facing criminal charges.

This thread could have been posted in pretty much any paranormal section of the forum. The guy touched various subjects in his podcast: UFO, Bigfoot, Ghosts, Psychics ect. It might have been best suited in Features News & Articles though.

He got caught for planting cookies on unsuspecting people's computers too, visitors of various blogs, perhaps even his own. Thus stealing a small 5 Million dollars. (court document: http://www.benedelma...aint.pdf#page=8) The man is a millionair yet he asked for donation to fund a book about his podcast. (https://www.kickstar...racles?ref=live) That's questionable..

I am not sure how he can still be considered 'credible' when accusing of frauds and fakery in the paranormal world which he did on his podcasts.

That was Psyche that said that, not me.
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It's not on this thread, but it happens with both sides, it happens with both believers and skeptics, there are people out there who think "Since he's a fraud, you can automatically discredit everything else he did", instead of his crimes and his accomplishments separately

I don't discredit his involvement in the skeptic movement, he has every right to his personal opinions which he publicly discussed. Some were fans of his podcast, some were not.

If a psychic is caught and proven guilty of fraud, would you still try to separate his crimes from his accomplishment? Chances are you would no longer take him as a credible source and for good reasons because this particular psychic went against what he claimed to stood for, what he was advocating for.

Can I ask you about your views on him prior to this fraud ? were you aware of him ? did you follow his podcasts/blog or anything ? More importantly, did you think he was credible at all ? (If I may ask)

I was aware of his podcast but never was a fan of it to be honest.

Edited by sam_comm
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Oh, golly. Yes, he's a fraudster on everything except on what I agree with him on!

That's how that works, right?

Chicken_no_head.gif

Nope.

If this was in response to my post, Well, I don't really know the guy, so I've never agreed with him on anything. Wasn't saying he's not a fraud, wasn't saying he did nothing wrong, wasn't saying he wasn't a lousy skeptic who relied on lies (I'm not implying he was one).

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Heavens Gate, Scientology, Order of the Solar Temple and Servers of the Divine Plan have all killed people.

were they ufologists, though? Meaning researchers and the like? They were just, well, probably not even real believers, people who used UFOs in one way or another to con people into following them. By ufologists we're talking about the people who make a career out of researching them, and/or promoting their own theories. You may consider them frauds and Charalants, but it's a bit of a leap from that to suggesting that they may have actually killed people.
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