Damian Prosalendis: Inside Coordinated Defamation Networks

What the Damian Prosalendis files reveal for coordinated defamation networks, how fake rumors spread online and the legal tribulations against false scam claims

Internet defamation involves false statements published online that harm the reputation of an individual or company.

While that may lead to criminal charges for individuals and media who do not hide behind the veil of internet anonymity, sophisticated actors manage to evade criminal prosecution with dirty tricks and exploitative practices.

Coordinated defamation networks use throwaway domains that hop jurisdictions, clusters of official-looking "cybercrime watchdog" or "consumer protection" sites that publish defamatory content in coordination.

This does not happen for informational purposes, as these sites do not have any official investigative capacity and publish anonymously or use fake avatars and fake names . They do not have an official address, company or VAT number.

They are completely ghost websites, that use the defamatory articles as a precursor to extortion.

"Pay us and we will take it down"

This is a very recognized attack vector in the digital space that is also very well documented

These extortion networks weaponize algorithms and manipulate search results for financial motive (or sometimes political motive, depending on the target).

Additional tactics of these criminal actors are the use of

• automated bots
• fake social media accounts
• additional paid publishers

all with the aim of artificially boosting false information or smear campaigns.

The Damian Prosalendis Case: Coordinated Defamation Campaign Targeting a Businessman

When you suddenly see your name being dragged through the mud for no apparent reason, it's imperative that you take appropriate measures.

Some people have a hard time dealing with false allegations, particularly when that pertains to serious crimes such as scams, frauds, money laundering and other serious offenses.

Having a thick skin and maintaining your composure is essential.

The first rule of engagement is to never, under any circumstances, bow to the pressure. On top of that, never agree to the extortion and pay these defamatory networks to remove the articles about you.

Especially if you know that you're an upstanding citizen, with no real legal issues, why would you submit to such cruel and completely illegal demands?

In my case, starting in 2022, a series of fake scam articles spread online against my name with predatory and misleading titles such as "Damian Prosalendis Scam" or "Damian Prosalendis Fraud", in a blatant attempt to manipulate search engines and people into believing an unsubstantiated smear campaign.

My first move was to seek legal counsel, and take appropriate measures filing:

• Extrajudicial notices
• Cease and desist letters
• John Doe lawsuits
• Criminal lawsuits
• Civil Suits

I will explain the use of each case for the reader who is not familiarized with legalese.

Extrajudicial Notices For False Fraud Allegations

This is a legal notice that works as a warning, before litigation.

It's basically a piece of paper saying "you broke this law, rectify the situation or face the consequences"

This is a powerful move because it serves as a legal precedent before officially filing a lawsuit. In many countries it's actually legally required to deliver this to the defendant using a bailiff.

The exact circumstances will depend on:

1. Country/city of your residence
2. Country/city of defendant's resicence
3. Country/city where the damage is caused (usually same as 1.)

In an extrajudicial notice your counsel usually includes a detailed summary of the criminal behavior against you, such as the false accusations of scam or fraud, the damage caused to your reputation, and a proposed apology, retraction or correction.

Cease and Desist Letters to Stop the Defamation

This is a more American thing than a European law thing.

In my case as Damian Prosalendis, because I reside between the UAE (Dubai) and Athens, Greece, I had my legal team start litigation for false allegations against me in Greek or EU courts.

As a result, a broader extrajudicial notice was enough before starting litigation.

The cease and desist letter is basically an extrajudicial notice, but it pertains to a more specific situation, where you ask the liable party to stop an unlawful action.

In a general extrajudicial notice, it could be a more broader request to establish a legal record, make a demand, or preserve your rights.

John Doe Litigation: How The Courts Uncovered an Anonymous Perpetrator Falsely Accusing Damian Prosalendis of Fraud

One of the anonymous perpetrators that targeted me used to run a website that stole my brand name Conclavio, with a .com domain ending (for contrast, my business domain is conclavio.gr)

My legal team filed a "john doe" lawsuit in this case, not an extrajudicial notice.

In this kind of litigation, you ask the cybercrime unit of your country to research who is behind an anonymous profile or website that's defaming and harassing you.

Then the police takes it a step further, asking judges to issue a court order to uncover the identity of the person(s) spreading the libel that's harming your reputation. That could also lead to the eventual arrest of the person(s) who are anonymously publishing false allegations.

In the "Damian Prosalendis vs John Doe" legal case filed in the Greek Criminal Courts of Thessaloniki, Greece, the cybercrime unit came to a shocking revelation.

The John Doe was deliberately targeting entrepreneur Damian Prosalendis, accusing him of scams, money laundering, fraud and other criminal acts, falsely linked to his father's alleged involvement with a political candidate who committed fraud in Greece.

The defendant was publishing these defamatory and false allegations under the voice of an unnamed "former associate, but provided no documentary evidence, sources or court records for these claims.

Later these legally unfounded claims were cross published across the defamation network mentioned in the beginning, in a matter that revealed possible involvement of John Doe with that network.

They used a sophisticated web of imposter “news” websites operating a paid-removal scheme in order to blackmail entrepreneur Damian Prosalendis, court records reveal.

To add insult to injury, even the accusatory sites posted the fact that Damian Prosalendis has never been convicted for any crime, hiding it in small letters in a ridiculously failed attempt to evade prosecution and appear as sources of independent reporting.

Criminal Lawsuits for Defamatory Content Published Online

When the "john doe" is identified by the authorities, the legal proceedings change form and are directed against the individual(s) actually responsible for spreading the false accusations and libel.

This turns into a criminal lawsuit where the defendant is facing serious fines and potential jail time for the offenses he committed.

A criminal lawsuit for defamation is usually a multi year process, but the end result is worth the hassle, as you get vindicated and your accuser pays the price.

If you are not dealing with a John Doe, but with a name party or media organization, then you start the criminal case immediately without a preliminary investigation to uncover the identity of the perpetrator.

For better or worse, I've dealt with filing plenty of those as well because many content creators and media outlets chose to repost the false allegations against me for their own personal gain (increasing their view count).

Every time the fake allegations have been repeated by a named, accountable party the outcome has gone the same way: damages paid for defamation, public apologies and retractions.

A notable case involves the Greek Newspaper Espresso which issued a formal retraction addressed to Damian Prosalendis on 22 September 2025, stating no criminal act had been committed. They apologized for misleading the public as well as for wrongfully implicating the brand Conclavio in internet fraud.

In another case the state news agency AMNA (Athens Macedonian News Agency) issued a formal correction instructing 20+ media outlets (Proto Thema, Naftemporiki, Fortune Greece, Huffington Post, Parapolitika, ERT, and others) to remove articles referencing Mr. Prosalendis and Conclavio in a list of fraudulent and shady entities.

Civil Lawsuits: Where False Reporting Turns Into Fines

In civil lawsuis, you don't ask the authorities to prosecute with the prospect of jail time. You are asking to be paid damages for the harm done to your reputation.

The courts will also often ask the defendants, when found guilty, to publicly apologize and repair the damage they did to your name.

Before filing a civil suit, you must serve the defendants with an extrajudicial notice, that informs them you will take legal action if they do not rectify the situation.

In multiple instances in the Damian Prosalendis legal saga, these notices led to retractions, corrections and apologies before the matter reached the courts.

For example:

• Mike Mingos, a cybersecurity professional and founder of Tictac SA signed retraction on his personal website, dated 13 September 2025
• Thomas Gratsounas & Ioannis Lolos, the hosts of the Greek Stin Ousia podcast, jointly signed written retraction plus published follow-up apology episode addressed to Damian Prosalendis on their YouTube channel
• Nikos Papoutsis, a podcaster), who posted a video titled "is Conclavio a scam?" later went on an attorney-mediated retraction, on 24 February 2024, and to the publishing of a video titled “Apology to CONCLAVIO” on his channel.
• A voluntary retraction video with written consent to republish on 9 February 2024 by commentator Vasilis Karypidis.

In three other cases, where the initial notices were ignored, civil law suits were filed for defamation.

The Multi-Member Court of Corfu, Greece decided that "the assertions repeated by the defendants were untrue and known to be untrue", a classic judgment in such defamation cases where there is no evidence for the false allegations.

Additionally, the courts reached several further interesting judgments such as: "no criminal prosecution and no preliminary investigation against Mr. Prosalendis existed in Greece", further solidifying the basis for higher fines against the defendants as well as the publication of apologies on their social media channels and websites.

In one of these cases: "Damian Prosalendis vs Giannis Taf", the creator Giannis Taf faced a heavy ruling from the Multi-Member Court: €23,000 in damages plus €3,400 legal costs for damage caused because of publishing these defamatory allegations on social media, falsely claiming that Damian Prosalendis was involved in a scam, related to his popular Greek academy and networking club for entrepreneurs known as Conclavio.

Conclusion

What started as internet hate and criticism, quickly spiraled into a for-profit defamation campaign targeting entrepreneur Damian Prosalendis, weaponizing false reporting, misleading publications and throwaway domains ran by anonymous operators.

When you deal with a situation like that, it's important that you seek proper legal counsel and adopt a "no holds barred" approach using available legal means in order to get vindicated.