Prolific Spammer Given Nine Years Jail

November 5, 2004
BC News Onlines

A United States man convicted of violating anti-spam laws by sending out tens of thousands of unsolicited emails using fake addresses faces nine years in prison in Virginia.

Virginia Attorney-General Jerry Kilgore says the case has led to the first felony conviction for spam in the United States.

A jury in Loudon County recommended the sentence for Jeremy Jaynes of Raleigh, North Carolina.

He is believed to have sent out massive amounts of spam messages to America Online members and masking the origin.

"This is a major victory for Virginians and all Americans," Mr Kilgore said.

"Spam is a nuisance to millions of Americans, but it is also a major problem for businesses large and small because the thousands of unwanted emails create havoc as they attempt to conduct commerce."

Jaynes, who operated using the alias "Gaven Stubberfield," was listed by anti-spam group the Spamhaus Project as the eighth most prolific spammer in the world.

Jaynes' sister, Jessica DeGroot, was also found guilty and fined $US7,500.

A third defendant, Richard Rutkowski of eVictory Consulting, also suspected of being involved in "National Wealth Builders" spamming, was acquitted.

Although both Jaynes and DeGroot lived in North Carolina, Virginia asserted jurisdiction because they sent messages through America Online server computers located in the state.

Some surveys suggest spam represented as much as three quarters of all email traffic, despite laws in several countries seeking to curb unsolicited emails.

Spam is believed to cost billions of dollars to businesses in software aimed at blocking the messages.

- AFP

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1235440.htm