Las Vegas Man Admits Posing As Attorney In Internet Shakedowns

LOS ANGELES - A Las Vegas man agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud: impersonating an attorney and threatening to sue owners of Internet domain names to gain control of the domains.

David Dominic Scali, 28, registered for an email account under a phony name and sent emails threatening to file $100,000 trademark infringement lawsuits unless his victims gave up their Internet domains within two days. He used a lawyer's identity and claimed to be part of a New York law firm, federal prosecutors said. Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison but the sentencing range in Scali's plea agreement calls for probation to 6 months, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

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