Wednesday 26 January 2011

ACS:Law's Andrew Crossley to 'sue the Internet' over emotional distress claims

LIVE FROM THE ACS:NEWS FRONT DESK, LONDON

News is breaking this hour to word that ACS:Law's defeated henchman Andrew Crossley is planning to once again take on his biggest enemy; the very Internet he exploited for his own financial gain.

Hi5 are notorious for their targeted-at-simpletons approach to advertising
Crossley, fresh from his firms court appearance yesterday, has enlisted the help of accident and injury law firm 'Hi5' who are known in the UK for their "had an accident in the past three years?" daytime television advertisements - screenings that have been under close eye by industry regulator OFCOM after complaints of misleading gluttony.

Hi5 is operated by UK-based lawyers Jonathan Miller and Terence Tsang who, according to a statement issued by Hi5, have 'little to no' connection to ACS:Law.

Crossley claims to have undergone an 'untold' amount of stress and anxiety after his website was taken down by cyber-protestors, his email database 'hacked' (leaked by his own firm) and after numerous death and terror threats against him. This, coupled with numerous investigations by the SRA and industry watchdogs seems to have pushed him over the edge.

"I have ceased my work... I have been subject to criminal attack," he said via his barrister to the BBC.

"My emails have been hacked. I have had death threats and bomb threats," Mr Crossley's statement said.

"They've threatened my family, my wife," he exclaimed.  When questioned to whether or not Mr. Crossley was still in contact with his wife he sneered and said "no comment."

The email leak back in September revealed that not only had Andrew's wife left him but Andrew himself carried a huge degree of frustration and resentment towards her and her new partner.

From: andrew.crossley@acs-law.co.uk
To: <removed.for.protection>

You are f***ing joke. Happy? You? With Kevin the drug addled hermit who has nothing to do with you or his family. You are the saddest person I have ever met.

Now get the f*** away from me forever you complete washed up drug addict loser.

Your email has been marked as blocked sender. No further emails from you will be received by me. Do not ever attempt any form of contact with me again as long as you live.


F*** off and keep out of my life.

Andrew your ex husband of 14 years


The leak of this email casts shadows over the validity of the alleged threats against Mr. Crossley's family, a family which appears to consist of little more than profit-orientated associates and large properties based in leafy West Sussex bought via his legally-grey letter sending business.

Crossley fails to address the on-going investigations against his law firm and its 'mind blowing' contempt of the legal system in the eyes of a judge.  For somebody who shrugged an attack on his website off as "typical rubbish from pirates" it strikes us as rather odd that an alleged set of death threats, most likely originating from kids in the US with access to Skype, if anywhere at all, could bring down his entire firm.

When quizzed to who Mr. Crossley plans on bringing legal proceedings against, he stated via his barrister "Pirates. F***ing pirates... The same ones who took my site down and hacked my emails... I know who they are and they will be seeing me soon."

Hi5 and Mr. Crossley declined to give further details of where they obtained the information of the accused pirates.

Perhaps Andrew is relating a little to what the recipients of his letters have stated after being targeted by his firm, excerpts below (thanks Slyck forums) --

"..these accusations are ruining our life as well as causing serious harm to my partner. My partner is disabled and has many health issues so for that fact alone it is devastating for us both.....

...I immediately called my 18 year old son down and started shouting at him....he's in the middle of his A levels at the moment and is really scared which is the last thing he needs at this time of stress.....

....I worry that the only way I can prove it is to take on a very expensive court case. In the meantime I feel smeared, and have to endure lectures from ACS like I was a criminal.....

.....I was trembling, felt light-headed and completely crushed.......It made me feel like a criminal even though I felt sure I had not done anything wrong.....

....My stress levels really started to rise because I did not have a clue where to start on defending myself.....

...My hands were shaking and I felt sick. My heart was racing. What was this all about?...I got myself into such a state...

... she is now convinced that she is going to jail....

...I feel like a criminal....

....nausea, shock, numbness, heart racing, confusion, distress, you name it, I felt it..

...The worry and stress about this has affected the health of myself and my family...

....The effect of this on my health has been devastating: weight loss and sleepless nights. I have even harboured thoughts of suicide on numerous occasions...."


More on this story as it unfolds...

"Pirates and the Internet have driven me insane" - Andrew Crossley, ACS:Law

BREAKING NEWS LEADING TO POSSIBLE DEMISE OF ACS:LAW

ACS LIVE! ACTION NEWS has dedicated itself to following, reporting and mocking the rise and continual fall of now notorious scam UK Law firm ACS:Law and its head crony Mr. Andrew Jonathan Crossley.

Crossley is a man who has lead a trite and meaningless life full of contempt, slobbery and woeful gloating; dedicating his time to 'getting rich quick' off the backs of a future-thinking nation who believe in progression - and most importantly - sharing.

Proving once and for all that attempting to control the Internet, our nation's last open channel for free and unregulated broadcast, is far from the brightest of ideas, Mr. Crossley is throwing in the towel after being laughed and boo'd out of court.

The first time ACS:News heard Mr. Crossley's voice 'live' was shortly before his website was blasted offline by cyber-protesters.  In either a drink or drugs-fueled, or just plain childish flailing of emotions, Andrew shouted "You can't stop me", "Your muvvaz", "I'll get the f***ing law on you", and other such pearls of wisdom to that effect to our journalist over the phone.  Unfortunately this call was never recorded to see the light of day but one can rest assured this outburst did little to stop the inevitable onslaught that would quickly result in the leaking of ACS:Law's entire database of internal secrets and the methods used to enable this scam to operate in the UK.

The leak was without a doubt the wake-up call needed to push word of this nation-wide scam to the mass media.  The next day the country woke to news of the leak and word of a massive investigation underway by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and the UK Data Commissioner, among others.

File-sharers quickly released 'megapacks' containing all of the music supposedly protected by Crossley and his firm, further humiliating the exposed con-artists and showing just how detrimental appointing firms like ACS:Law is to a content holder's interests.

ISPs country-wide went on record both in and out of court stating that they'd start defending their customers against the likes of ACS:Law and wouldn't be duped again.

Since the leak ACS:Law has attempted and failed to come back online and most importantly rake in as much cash as they can before a possible half a million pound fine that could lead to the firms closure.

The leak ensured that the country was clued up to the goings-on at ACS:Law and the name quickly became synonymous with a get rich quick scam who's legal letters needed filing in the 419, spam and fraud baskets of our nation's homes, causing Crossley to attempt sending his feeble scare-letters under the guise of other law practices.

Now, after ACS:Law's final day in court, an undercover reporter for ACS:News has been on the phone to Andrew Crossley who had this to say:

"I have ceased my f***ing work... I have been subject to criminal attack.  My emails have been hacked. I have had f***ing death threats and bomb threats for f***s sake.  The Internet made me f***ing rich and now the f*** [the Internet] has ruined my f***ing life...  I'm out... There's nothing left for me here, even my f***ing b**** druggie wife hates my f***ing guts.  Let the c***s have their f***ing free music or whatever, I'm done trying to make money off these f***ing pirates.  They've driven me f***ing insane."

This comes in stark contrast to his initial 'on the record' response to the Internet turning on ACS:Law, when Crossley was quoted as saying "Big whoop... It was only down for a few hours. I have far more concern over the fact of my train turning up 10 minutes late or having to queue for a coffee than them wasting my time with this sort of rubbish... [The attack was] typical rubbish from pirates."

Could this be the end of ACS:Law?  We'd love to say yes but it's important we follow this through to the end.  Keep spreading the good word, keep an eye on the usual ACS:Law-related outlets, our Twitter page and your letter box.

The battle for keeping the Internet and our culture open, resourceful and free has only just begun.

ACS:News 2010 - 2011