I said I'd update my post but I was lazy and it's been too long to edit that one but here's how you know it's absolutely a grift.
On his lolcow fund page his refund policy says this: (highlight is mine)
So, this page seems to suggest that these donations will go towards litigation. The title of the page is "Lolcow LLC Litigation Fund" and right there in the definition and explanation of what they mean by "donation" it acknowledges that the donations are a gesture of support towards his effort to sue Epik and The Trannies.
But as we know, when you visit the actual donation page, there's a checkbox to tick to confirm that you agree with the following:
Which establishes very clearly that this money is a gift to null to spend how he pleases including litigation if he wants to. When he talks about it on the forum he more often talks about it in terms of a litigation fund rather than a general slush fund, which it plainly is.
Null's also claiming that the way the fund is established offers some kind of anonymity to his users but I don't see how it does. Null claims this in his post about the Cheese Fund:
His lawyer is going to have to keep proper accounting of where this money came from, I can't believe for a second there's no regulatory oversight of this kind of thing otherwise it would be the easiest and quickest form of money laundering known to mankind, so the donors' identifying information is being stored for sure. Null is claiming that you're protected by three things: the rules of professional conduct, the attorney work product doctrine, and the attorney-client privilege.
The last one is an out-and-out lie. The donation form leaves absolutely no wiggle room, there is no attorney-client relationship between the donor and null's lawyer, and he knew that when he wrote the post. Also, the attorney-client privilege only applies to communications between Null and Hardin, not to records. Those are covered in the second thing he claims, the attorney work product doctrine, but that's supposed to protect work done in preparation for litigation, so that you don't have to divulge all your strategy and notes to the opposition. I think it's a stretch to say that financial records of donors to a slush fund fall under "materials prepared in anticipation of litigation". So that just leaves "the rules of professional conduct", which sounds good, but really doesn't mean anything. He won't act in an unprofessional way with your private information. Great, that doesn't mean that he won't comply with a legal request for that information though, which is what we're trying to find protection against.
So in a nutshell the fund isn't for what he says it's for and doesn't offer the anonymity he says it does, because null is a lying grifter.
On his lolcow fund page his refund policy says this: (highlight is mine)
Refund Policy
No Refunds
All contributions made are considered as donations. Please note that once the donation has been made, we do not offer refunds.
Donations
Donations are voluntary contributions made without the expectation of receiving any goods, services, or return on investment. They are made out of goodwill to support our litigation causes and are not tied to specific products or services.
So, this page seems to suggest that these donations will go towards litigation. The title of the page is "Lolcow LLC Litigation Fund" and right there in the definition and explanation of what they mean by "donation" it acknowledges that the donations are a gesture of support towards his effort to sue Epik and The Trannies.
But as we know, when you visit the actual donation page, there's a checkbox to tick to confirm that you agree with the following:
I understand that donations do not establish an attorney-client relationship, and Matthew Hardin is not able to offer individual advice or acknowledgement to any donor. Matthew Hardin and his firm represent only Joshua Moon and Lolcow LLC. Upon receipt, all funds will become the sole property of Joshua Moon and will be held in trust for disbursement at his sole discretion, including but not limited to disbursement to support ongoing litigation or anticipated litigation in which the Hardin Law Office represents Mr. Moon or Lolcow LLC. Contributions are not tax deductible. I understand that if I have any questions about whether it is advisable for me to contribute to this fund, I am welcome to consult an independent attorney or tax professional.
Which establishes very clearly that this money is a gift to null to spend how he pleases including litigation if he wants to. When he talks about it on the forum he more often talks about it in terms of a litigation fund rather than a general slush fund, which it plainly is.
Null's also claiming that the way the fund is established offers some kind of anonymity to his users but I don't see how it does. Null claims this in his post about the Cheese Fund:
Last week, I asked the community if they would be willing to support me in the pursuit of litigation against Epik and others. Over 1,600 people voted both that they would, and that they would financially support it.
My attorney, Matthew Hardin, who has represented us with both Melinda Scott's cases and now Greer's, has agreed to set up an IOLTA account. This is a trust account that he manages. It enjoys certain legal protections due to its nature and purpose. I hid on the toilet when a man in a dress knocked on my door.
Over the last week, we've quickly set up a custom charge form for the purpose of fundraising a conservative estimate for the cost of a lawsuit up until jury trial: $75,000. Having this money upfront, specially purposed for litigation, is a very strong position for opening moves against the companies and people detailed on the fund.
https://lolcowfund.hardin.law/
This form does accept traditional card payments and should work for international cardholders as well. I will stress that I've gone through some undertaking to ensure that the form is both incredibly simple and very secure: card numbers never touch any server that I manage, instead it goes directly to the bank. Further, the fund itself enjoys certain legal protections as it is an IOLTA. Epik actually threatened on Twitter that they'd use litigation to perform discovery and 'expose' Kiwi Farms users, which an IOLTA helps protect against. Our attorney is bound by the rules of professional conduct as well as by the attorney work product doctrine and the attorney-client privilege, and will take maximum steps to ensure your privacy.
There is more detailed explanation for all of this on the website. I would encourage anyone interested to read it over. The information on the site is what is binding, this is my layman's explanation of it.
I will also mention that literally just yesterday, Stripe decided to debank my podcast. I have received no explanation for this. They closed out 1776 Hosting's old account, and all integrations that my other LLC has with other companies to monetize my work. The only given reason is "Prohibited Business". They will not give more information. This also affects my ability to charge money for merchandise runs.
So while the site has been more stable than usual, I promise you certain people are still working every day to try and destroy it. There are continuous emails being sent to all providers, they are complaining to banks to try and figure out how to stymie my ability to make money even through my side projects, and then they are defaming us on Twitter to try and snowball accusations into a genuinely untenable position. The only way forward is to be aggressive.
His lawyer is going to have to keep proper accounting of where this money came from, I can't believe for a second there's no regulatory oversight of this kind of thing otherwise it would be the easiest and quickest form of money laundering known to mankind, so the donors' identifying information is being stored for sure. Null is claiming that you're protected by three things: the rules of professional conduct, the attorney work product doctrine, and the attorney-client privilege.
The last one is an out-and-out lie. The donation form leaves absolutely no wiggle room, there is no attorney-client relationship between the donor and null's lawyer, and he knew that when he wrote the post. Also, the attorney-client privilege only applies to communications between Null and Hardin, not to records. Those are covered in the second thing he claims, the attorney work product doctrine, but that's supposed to protect work done in preparation for litigation, so that you don't have to divulge all your strategy and notes to the opposition. I think it's a stretch to say that financial records of donors to a slush fund fall under "materials prepared in anticipation of litigation". So that just leaves "the rules of professional conduct", which sounds good, but really doesn't mean anything. He won't act in an unprofessional way with your private information. Great, that doesn't mean that he won't comply with a legal request for that information though, which is what we're trying to find protection against.
So in a nutshell the fund isn't for what he says it's for and doesn't offer the anonymity he says it does, because null is a lying grifter.