Dan Keen

Last updated
Dan Keen
NationalityAmerican
Occupation Registered agent executive
Known for Epik; Registered Agents Inc.
Website registeredagentsinc.com

Dan Keen is an American business executive and owner of Registered Agents Inc., a registered agent company he founded in 2008. Since 2023, Keen's company has been the owner of Epik, a domain name registrar and web hosting service known for providing services to alt-tech websites that host far-right, neo-Nazi, and other extremist materials. [1]

Contents

History

Prior to founding Registered Agents Inc. in 2008, Keen owned a tree trimming and landscaping business in Idaho. [2] Initially focusing on company incorporation in the Pacific Northwest, [3] Keen grew Registered Agents Inc. into a registered agent incorporating companies throughout the United States. [2] According to Wired , Registered Agents Inc. is a "one-stop shop for people seeking to incorporate a business in any US state, often in those with advantageous tax policies, while obscuring their identities." [2] Registered Agents Inc. uses fictitious personas to mask the identities of its employees and to sign their customers' incorporation documents, according to Wired and a joint investigation by The Washington Post and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. [2] [4]

Businesses

In 2023, Registered Agents Inc. acquired Epik, a domain name registrar and web hosting service catering to far-right and neo-Nazi websites that have been denied service by other internet service providers. [1] [5] [6]

The company also owns a software development company called Two Barrels LLC and a company that helps manage multiple corporation filings called Corporate Tools LLC. [2]

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References

  1. 1 2 Turton, William (February 8, 2024). "The Far Right's Favorite Web Host Has a Shadowy New Owner". Wired . ISSN   1059-1028. Archived from the original on February 13, 2024. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Turton, William; Mehrotra, Dhruv (March 5, 2024). "Inside the Shadowy Firm Pushing the Limits of Business Privacy". Wired . ISSN   1059-1028. Archived from the original on 2024-03-09. Retrieved 2024-03-10. The company routinely incorporates thousands of businesses on behalf of its customers using fake personas. Former Registered Agents Inc. employees say that the company's widespread use of personas is an outgrowth of its founder's obsession with privacy and a desire to push the boundaries of incorporation laws.
  3. Czaban, Kristen (November 25, 2020). "Commercial registered agents bring business with unintended consequences". The Sheridan Press. Archived from the original on February 20, 2024. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  4. Will, Fitzgibbon; Cenziper, Debbie; Crites, Alice (April 5, 2022). "The gatekeepers who help open America to oligarchs and scammers". International Consortium of Investigative Journalists . Archived from the original on March 5, 2024. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
  5. Allemann, Andrew (3 June 2023). "Epik is sold". Domain Name Wire. Archived from the original on 12 June 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  6. "Registered Agents Inc Acquires Epik". Epik. 2024-02-02. Archived from the original on 2024-02-03. Retrieved 2024-03-10.