Candidate Statement for May Chess Life

The most pressing issue facing the new Executive Board next August will be how to proceed with the lawsuits that embroil the USCF and two of the EB members who were elected in 2007; namely, Susan Polgar and Paul Truong (a married couple).

In September 2007, while working as a volunteer System Administrator for the USCF on its web site, I uncovered technical evidence that Paul Truong had authored thousands of vulgar, obscene, Usenet posts, impersonating various chess personalities, and viciously attacking the USCF and numerous USCF officials, employees, and volunteers. These posts, commonly referred to as "Fake Sam Sloan" posts, continued after Truong became an Executive Board member in August 2007. I put my findings into a confidential report (the "Mottershead Report") to the Executive Board, which was soon leaked on the Internet, though I was not the person who leaked it.

Truong's "Fake Sam Sloan" activity has led, ultimately, to five lawsuits for the USCF.

First, the USCF found itself as a co-defendant with Truong in two lawsuits by people he impersonated: one brought by the "real" Sam Sloan and a second by another person. The USCF is now out of these cases.

A third case arose when the USCF filed suit against "John Does", trying to discover how confidential emails between the USCF and its lawyers had been leaked and came to be posted on her blog by Polgar. After obtaining information through subpoenas, the USCF eventually alleged that a confederate of Polgar's had hacked into an EB member's email account over 100 times; that she received the stolen emails; and that she published them on her website, seeking to embarrass the other members of the Executive Board, knowing that they were stolen. The Secret Service is also investigating this affair as a criminal matter.

The fourth case was brought by Susan Polgar after she was subpoenaed in the email hacking case. She seeks $25 million in damages for unspecified "defamation" and other claims.

The last case was filed by the USCF to have a judge order the removal of Polgar and Truong from the Executive Board for misconduct and failure to fulfill their duties to the USCF as Executive Board members.

I believe that it is incumbent on all candidates in this election to make their position on these lawsuits clear, especially those candidates who are apparently being sponsored or supported by Susan Polgar and Paul Truong.

My position is that the USCF must defend itself vigorously in the $25 million lawsuit against it filed by Susan Polgar. My view is that this lawsuit (in which I am also one of the defendants) is without merit and that it was filed to keep the USCF and the Executive Board from holding Polgar and Truong accountable for their misconduct. I also believe that the USCF must proceed with the lawsuit to have Polgar and Truong removed from its Executive Board by a judge.