A Manhattan lawyer convicted of impersonating his father’s academic rivals on the Internet to discredit them was sentenced Monday to jail time after New York’s highest court upheld 19 convictions against him.
Raphael Golb, the son of Dead Sea Scrolls scholar Norman Golb, received two months behind bars and three years’ probation for creating online aliases to attack his dad’s rivals in disputes about the scrolls from 2006 to 2009. Golb had insisted the cyber war was just a joke.
His resentencing Monday came after the Court of Appeals ruled to uphold the 19 convictions on charges of misdemeanor criminal impersonation and forgery — and toss a more serious charge of aggravated harassment.
Prosecutors asked Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Laura Ward to sentence Golb to one year in jail, saying he “should get exactly what he deserves.”
In court, Golb, who had been free during his appeal, admitted his mistakes in the kooky scheme.
“I obviously should not have sent out deadpan emails in the names of other individuals,” he said, “and I obviously will never do it again.”
In 2010, a Manhattan jury convicted Golb on 31 of 31 counts of identity theft, criminal impersonation and other related charges, but he appealed.
After a mid-level court upheld 29 of those convictions, Golb was sentenced to six months in jail.
Golb must surrender to authorities by July 22, but could ask for an extension as he continues to appeal the case.
Defense attorney Ron Kuby promised to fight to overturn the convictions, arguing that Golb was exercising his First Amendment right.
“A jail sentence is always disappointing, especially since Mr. Golb was doing no more than exercising, in good faith, what he believed to be his right of freedom of speech,” said Kuby. “None of the so-called victims suffered any harm.”
“We are by no means done.”