ORDER

This matter having come before the Court on Plaintiffs Goldstone Financial Group, LLC and Anthony Pellegrino‘s (“Plaintiffs“) Motion for Default Judgment against Defendant FinanceScam.com (“Defendant“), due notice having been given, and the Court having considered the Motion, the supporting memorandum of law, exhibits, and the evidence and arguments presented;

Defendant having been served and having failed to answer the Complaint or otherwise plead, and the time for answering the Complaint having expired, so that the allegations in the Complaint are uncontroverted and deemed admitted;

The Court finds that Defendant is liable for violating the Anti-Cybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1125(d), trademark infringement, false advertising, defamation per se, false light, and trade libel.

Accordingly, this Court ORDERS that the Motion is GRANTED as follows:

Plaintiffs are awarded $100,000 in statutory damages as to each of the eight domains set forth in paragraph 7 of the Complaint pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1117(d), for total monetary relief of $800,000.

The Court orders the transfer of each of the eight domains set forth in Paragraph 7 of the Complaint to Plaintiffs. In order to give practical effect to this Order, these domains are ordered to be immediately transferred by the registrars to Plaintiffs’ control within five (5) days of receipt of this judgment.

Plaintiffs have demonstrated the absence of an adequate remedy of law and the threat of irreparable harm if permanent injunctive relief is denied. The Court finds that such harm to Plaintiffs would outweigh any harm to Defendant if the permanent injunctive relief is granted and that the public interest supports granting such relief. Accordingly, Plaintiffs are awarded the following injunctive relief:

Defendant FinanceScam.com, its officers, agents, servants, employees, attorneys, and all persons acting for, with, by, through, under or in active concert with it be enjoined and retrained from:
1. registering and using any internet domain or social media channel that incorporates Plaintiffs’ Marks or any reproductions, counterfeit copies or colorable imitations thereof;
2. transferring any of the Network domains and channels (identified in [1-1]) pending final adjudication of this case;
3. publishing, republishing, maintaining, or operating any website, identified in [1-1], that contains statements falsely impugning Plaintiffs’ professional integrity or character, or falsely implying or stating they have undertaken illegal, unlawful, unethical, immoral, or otherwise improper conduct;
4. further infringing upon Plaintiffs’ Marks and damaging Plaintiffs’ goodwill; and
5. engaging in search engine optimization strategies using colorable imitations of Plaintiffs’ names or trademarks.
Defendant shall, within 2 days of receiving notice of this Order:
1. Remove the identified infringing, false, and defamatory content and statements from any domain or website under its control, identified in [1-1].
2. Refrain from re-posting or otherwise republishing such statements.
Plaintiffs are hereby authorized to serve a copy of this Order, along with a written request for removal, on any third-party internet service provider, domain registrar, search engine, hosting provider, or social media platform that displays or indexes the defamatory content identified in [1-1].
Plaintiff shall serve a copy of this Order and the supporting papers on Defendant by electronic mail within one business day of its entry on the docket.
The $1,000 bond deposited with the Clerk of Court as security for the Temporary Restraining Order shall be remitted to Plaintiffs.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: 10/16/2025

The Honorable Sunil R. Harjani

United States District Court Judge for the North District of Illinois