Summary: A former New York attorney who worked for Skadden Arps and Fried Frank was arrested in California for having a two-year sexual relationship with an underage girl.
The founder of LegalMatch.com was indicted by a Stanislaus County criminal grand jury, accused of engaging in sex with a teenager. The prosecutors claim that 44-year-old Dmitry Shubov met a 14-year-old girl from Modesto in order to build a sexual relationship.
Shubov apparently met the girl on seekingarrangement.com, a website that matched older men or “Sugar Daddies” up with younger women or “Sugar Babies” in order to be pampered with “fine dinners, exotic trips and allowances.” The website delivers the same matchmaking like services for older women looking for younger men.
Shuboz moved from New York to the Bay Area. Prosecutors believe he had been traveling to Modesto for over two years in order to meet the girl to have sex. They claim he was fully aware that the girl was a minor. He was indicted on 10 felony counts, including sodomy, oral copulation, and unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor younger than 16.
His attorney, Frank Carson, argues that there is no evidence supporting their claims. He plans to file a motion challenging the indictment. He said, “It’s baseless, as far as we’re concerned. We will be defending (Shubov’s innocence) vigorously. And we’re confident we’ll prevail, and the truth will come out.”
The girl’s family eventually learned about the relationship and contacted the police. Modest police spokeswoman Heather Graves said Shubov met the girl when she was 14. Their relationship eventually turned sexual. When he arrived on April 21 in Modesto to meet the girl again, Modesto police arrested Shubov.
They believe the relationship began sometime in July of 2015 and continued until March of this year. The criminal complaint was filed May 15 and two days later the indictment was issued. The indictment supersedes the complaint, moving the case straight to trial without a preliminary hearing. The trial has not yet been scheduled and will likely not happen anytime soon. He will return to court on November 30 for a law and motion hearing.
Shubov’s bail was increased from $50,000 to $200,000. He was also ordered to turn over his passport. He is currently free on bail.
A spokeswoman for the website, Alexis Germany, explains, “SeekingArrangement is a website intended for adults age 18 and older. Similar to other sites that require users to be a certain age upon joining, a new user is asked to supply their age.” She added that their in-house support team verifies each new user. If they suspect the profile age to not be correct or if someone reports the user as being underage, then the account is suspended. Users are then required to supply a government-issued identification that matches the information listed in their profile.
This is not the first time Shubov has been in trouble. He created his website LegalMatch to “help individuals and small businesses make educated decisions when choosing a lawyer.” He pleaded guilty in 2004 to retrieving and deleting voicemails of a rival website. He had sued the rival, accusing them of recruiting and poaching his sales staff. He was sentenced to two years of probation and a $5,000 fine. New York disbarred him in October 2005 and he handed over his position of LegalMatch’s chief.
His LinkedIn profile has him listed as the founder and CEO of Adzoco since 2015. The Facebook profile for Adzoco explains that the company turns “unused private property into viral advertising displays” that connect property owners with businesses. The online link for the company sends users to LegalMatch’s website.
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To learn more about lawyers caught having sex with underage victims, read these articles:
- Charges of Child Prostitution Prompt Oklahoma Senator’s Resignation
- Disbarred San Antonio Attorney Mark Benavides’ Trial Delayed
- Former FSU General Counsel Arrested for Soliciting Sex with a Minor
Shubov Photo: linkedin.com
SeekingArrangement Photo: medium.com