Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Convicted Spammer Gets Nine Years in Jail

Finally, the courts are doing something about all the junk mail promoting various schemes and scams. This week Jeremy Jaynes was sentenced to nine years in prison and Jessica DeGroot was fined $7,500.

RIP-OFF: Independent Committee of Eminent Persons (ICEP)

Have you heard the phrase "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”? There is a scam floating around on the Internet that certainly qualifies. It claims that the strangely titled (and fictitious) "Independent Committee of Eminent Persons" has found millions of dollars that you can claim.

The scam e-mail is humorous. Here are some of the claims:

One Vendor Out of his Element

I have written many times about companies that sell copies of "your family's coat of arms." Anyone who has been doing genealogy for a while knows that there is no such thing. In England, Ireland, and Scotland, as well as most of Europe, coats of arms are not issued to families. They are only issued to individuals. At any given time, only one person is authorized to display a particular coat of arms, and then only if he (or sometimes she) possesses written authorization to do so from the heralds in the issuing country. Anyone else who uses a coat of arms is guilty of some form of impersonation.

I was very surprised to see a vendor at the Federation of Genealogical Societies selling "your family's coat of arms."

International (Surname) Family Yearbook from MORPHCORP

NOTE: This is an updated version of a story I wrote a couple of years ago. The company described apparently is still very active, according to reports received in e-mail. It seems appropriate to republish this information now.

A company in Colorado has been selling "family yearbooks" for years. They send advertisements for the "International [Surname] Family Yearbook" or similar titles. In this case, substitute your last name in place of "[Surname]." For instance, an advertisement sent to a person named Smith would be advertising "The Smith Family Yearbook" while someone named Clark would receive an advertisement for "The Clark Family Yearbook."

"Indian Chief" Escapes Jail Sentence for False Genealogy Claims

Two weeks ago I wrote about Ronald A. Roberts, who calls himself Chief Golden Eagle. I wrote:

Times are difficult for Sachem Golden Eagle of the Western Mohegan Indian tribe. It seems that he is not a sachem and not even an Indian. His name isn't Golden Eagle; it is Ronald A. Roberts. Now he is awaiting sentencing on his recent conviction for filing false documents. The documents in question were the "proof" of his claims of having Native American ancestry.