access codes. Schmitz operated a bulletin board system called "House of Coolness" where users would trade pirated software; around 1993 Schmitz was reportedly targeted by German anti-piracy lawyer Günter von Gravenreuth and has become a paid informant. Schmitz was arrested in March 1994 for selling stolen phone numbers and held in custody for a month. He was arrested again in 1998 on more hacking charges and convicted of 11 counts of computer fraud and 10 counts of data espionage. As he was a minor, he was given a two-year suspended sentence; the judge of the case described Schmitz's actions as "youthful foolishness". In 2001, Schmitz bought €375,000 worth of shares of the nearly bankrupt company and subsequently announced his intention to invest €50 million in the company. The announcement caused the share value of Letsbuyit.com to jump, resulting in a €1.5 million profit for Schmitz. Thailand Dotcom moved to Thailand to avoid investigation, but was arrested there at the request of the German embassy. In response, he allegedly pretended to kill himself online and declared through his website that he wished to be known as "His Royal Highness King Kimble the First, Ruler of the Kimpire". He was deported back to Germany where he pleaded guilty to embezzlement in November 2003 and, after five months in jail awaiting trial, again received a suspended sentence, this time of 20 months. After avoiding a prison sentence for a second time, he left Germany and moved to Hong Kong in late 2003. Hong Kong Dotcom found Hong Kong to his liking and registered Kimpire Limited in December 2003, soon after moving there. He set up a network of interlinked companies, including Trendax, which he said was an artificial intelligence-driven hedge fund. However, Trendax was never registered with Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission and the company was not legally allowed to accept investments or to conduct trades. After moving to New Zealand, Dotcom didn't disclose his investment activity to the Securities and Futures Commission and was fined HK$8,000. Move to New Zealand Dotcom visited New Zealand for 10 days in December 2008 and again for two months in 2009. He applied for residency and received it in November 2010. Immigration New Zealand made its decision on his application, despite his foreign convictions and despite his persona non grata status in Thailand, after officials used a special direction to waive "good character" requirements. Warwick