Yesterday, John Steele, one of the masterminds behind Prenda Law, was referred to criminal investigators at the Department of Justice and Internal Revenue Service by a federal judge. Steele and his colleagues were also ordered to pay more than $81,000 in attorneys' fees, and referred to state bar investigators.

Steele's years-long copyright trolling scheme—in which demand letters were sent to thousands of users based on "snapshots" of their IP addresses—appears to be at an end, resulting in some very serious consequences. But he is putting on a brave face in public, responding with characteristic aplomb. Steele attacked US District Judge Otis Wright's order publicly, telling adult-industry publication XBIZ (NSFW) that he intends to appeal it.

"Obviously we don't agree on the ruling," Steele said. "Judge Wright based his order on an eight-minute hearing where there was no testimony, no evidence introduced. Clearly Judge Wright does not like this type of litigation and he's no fan of intellectual property law."

At the hearing (which was actually about 12 minutes), Steele and other Prenda lawyers pled the Fifth Amendment, and refused to discuss who owned Prenda-linked shell companies or where the settlement money was going.

The suggestion that a critic who takes issue with Prenda's litigation tactics is opposed to intellectual property law is not a new rhetorical strategy for Prenda. A few weeks ago, another Prenda-affiliated lawyer attacked the digital-rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation, comparing it to the "terrorist group WikiLeaks," and saying EFF has been fighting digital copyright enforcement efforts for over one decade.

This is also not the first time Steele has responded to legal developments by speaking to XBIZ. Steele didn't respond to a phone call requesting comment from Ars. I reached Paul Hansmeier, another Prenda-linked lawyer, by phone. He referred me to Steele. Did Hansmeier want to respond to yesterday's order on his own behalf, I asked? "No comment," he said.