Cohen Denied Bail, San Jose Bound

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — According to court reports from the San Diego Union-Tribune today, Stephen Cohen pleaded poverty in a court hearing meant to address whether he should face the $65 million judgment against him for the theft of the famed Sex.com URL from entrepreneur Gary Kremen.

“I don't have a lot of financial wherewithal,” Cohen told Federal Judge Leo S. Papas, shortly before requesting bail.

But the judge was not convinced, noting that Cohen made off with roughly $100 million during his temporary holding of Sex.com.

“I think you'll find some disagreement on that from some quarters,” the judge reportedly said, refusing Cohen’s bail request.

Papas has ordered Cohen be sent to San Jose, site of the original Sex.com trial in 1998. Once there, Cohen will face Judge James Ware, the original judge from the case.

Cohen was apprehended last week in Mexico, where he allegedly fled shortly after Kremen won his $65 million judgment against him. With statutory interest, Cohen now owes closer to $83 million.

Cohen was initially discovered in Mexico shortly after his daughter, Jhuliana Cohen, was arrested attempting to smuggle marijuana over the U.S./Mexico border. Her arrest prompted immigration officials to notify Mexican police of Stephen Cohen’s outstanding warrant in the Sex.com case.

Mexican police later discovered Cohen living outside the border town of Tijuana when he applied for a residency permit.

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