As I mentioned in my previous article about the SnapNames fraud, iREIT may have purchased a portfolio of domains from Nelson Brady in late 2006. An iREIT spokesperson declined to speculate on the accuracy of my claim, but whois records indicate that a number of domains were transferred from DomainQueue of Tacoma, WA to iREIT in late 2006.

So how did SnapNames discover the fraud? Craig Snyder may be the missing link.

Craig has been described as a sincerely principaled businessman by those who know him, and is famous for cofounding Marchex. He started working at iREIT in September 2006, just a few months before the DomainQueue domains were transferred to iREIT.

DNW speculated that Snyder may have been hired by Oversee.net in August of this year to “clean up the company.” Given Craig’s deep understanding of the domain industry, his role overseeing SnapNames, and his insider knowledge about the DomainQueue deal, it may have been an easy scam for him to uncover.

UPDATE: I wrote a supplemental article with more details.