On May 9, 1994, entrepreneur Gary Kremen (who also founded Match.com and Clean Power Finance) registered sex.com with Network Solutions, but did not develop the site as he focused on growing Match.com.

He eventually persuaded an employee of Network Solutions to change the ownership details by submitting a fake fax.

Cohen appealed the judgment and refused to allow assessment of his business: he provided false information and declared most of his companies bankrupt while illegally moving assets out of US jurisdiction.

Courts have found in Kremen's favor several times since 2006, with evidence that seven individuals and twelve companies were used to help Cohen hide the money, including his brother, his daughter, his ex-wife and also his former lawyer.

[12] On March 18, 2010, a day before the auction, creditors of Escom, LLC filed an involuntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition to prevent a possible loss of value by selling the name at foreclosure.