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'''On July 16, 2009''' SnapNames.com, in partnership with Moniker.com, began a monthly showcase auction to target corporate buyers. [https://www.snapnames.com/newsroom.jsp]
'''On July 16, 2009''' SnapNames.com, in partnership with Moniker.com, began a monthly showcase auction to target corporate buyers. [https://www.snapnames.com/newsroom.jsp]
== The "halvarez" Scandal==
On 11 April 2009, SnapNames announced that the company has discovered that one of its own employees participated in the auctions conducted by the company under the handle of "halvarez" <ref>http://www.domainnamenews.com/news/snapnames-discovers-employee-bidding-domain-names/6479</ref>. The employee was found to be Mr. Nelson Brady, VP (Engineering). According to the company release, Mr. Brady would bid "irrationally high" in the auctions under the "halvarez" handle, leading to a full-blown bidding war amongst bidders for what was otherwise a straightforward backorder transaction. Bids placed by "halvarez" would invariably turn out to be the second-highest after the auction was closed<ref>http://www.dnforum.com/f557/important-message-snapnames-5-thread-197282.html</ref>. According to the company release, the activity had been going on since March 2005, before being finally discovered in 2009<ref>http://www.snapnames.com/faq.html</ref>. About 5% of all auctions conducted by SnapNames were affected because of this.
In order to contain the damage, SnapNames terminated the employment of Mr. Nelson Brady in 2009. The company also offered a rebate - with 5.22% interest (the highest applicable federal rate during the affected time period), to affected customers for the difference between the prices they actually paid and the prices they would have paid, had the employee not bid in the auctions<ref>http://www.namepros.com/domain-name-discussion/621078-halvarez-at-snapnames-auctions-uncovered.html</ref>. An independent forensics firm, Rust Consulting, was hired to estimate the refund amount.
== Company Information ==
== Company Information ==