Justice Dept. Targets Porn Spammers
UPDATE -- Aug. 25:
The post below incorrectly stated that among those expected to be indicted was Kirk Rogers, 42, of Manhattan Beach, Calif. Rogers was not indicted. According to an official press release issued by the Justice Department this evening, a fourth person, Andrew Ellifson, 31, of Scottsdale, Ariz., pleaded guilty to the CAN-SPAM charges. The indictment said Ellifson acknowledged setting up the computer networks used by the spamming operation.Original Post from Aug. 24:
The U.S. Justice Department is expected to announce indictments Thursday against four U.S. citizens accused of sending pornographic spam e-mails in violation of federal anti-spam laws, a move the government says amounts to the "first-ever charges and pleas related to sending of obscene spam."
A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed that the indictments were imminent but that they were not expected to be returned until Thursday.
The four people expected to be named in the indictments are Jennifer Clason, 32, formerly of Tempe, Ariz.; Jeffrey Kilbride, 39, of Venice, Calif.; Kirk Rogers, 42, of Manhattan Beach, Calif.; and James Schaffer, 39, of Paradise Valley, Ariz. All four defendants are expected to be charged with two counts each of fraud and of violating the CAN-SPAM Act of 2004, which requires anyone sending sexually oriented material to include the warning "SEXUALLY-EXPLICIT" in the subject line of the message. The indictments also are expected to charge the defendants with money laundering.
According to the Justice Dept., America Online received more than 600,000 complaints in six months about the spam allegedly sent by the four. The messages advertised subscription-based adult Web sites.
According to one individual involved in the investigation who asked not to be named, the group also sent porn spam for Bangbros.com of Miami, a company that last month settled a lawsuit brought by the Federal Trade Commission.
By
Brian Krebs
|
August 25, 2005; 9:18 PM ET
Categories:
Fraud
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Posted by: William Windsor | August 24, 2005 11:14 PM | Report abuse
Finally! Hopefully this will be just the first of many such prosecutions.
Posted by: Ken Cuccinelli | August 24, 2005 11:51 PM | Report abuse
I'm in the Washington post!
Posted by: Masterp74 | August 25, 2005 1:14 PM | Report abuse
Masterp74, you are a celeb now
Posted by: SREBEL | August 25, 2005 1:45 PM | Report abuse
William, that's probably the stupidest statement i've ever heard. Why don't you try putting the child molestors and rapists in prison for 7 years, before the spammers... If you can't hit delete, you should'nt own a computer.
Posted by: Anonymous | August 25, 2005 1:53 PM | Report abuse
and dont get me started on the junk mail sent to my house.. have i ever asked for 65 catalogs of various crap that i dont need? or how about all the mortgage junk mail?
the u.s. doesnt do crap about it because they get a fee of $150 per year for bulk junk mail and the millions they make off the postage.
Posted by: J | August 25, 2005 1:55 PM | Report abuse
If the government could find a way to make money off spam and charge for it they would and they wouldn't be indicting people for sending email, they'd be taxing them.
Posted by: Citizen | August 25, 2005 2:03 PM | Report abuse
I buy bulk email lists for cheap
Posted by: Masterp74 | August 25, 2005 2:04 PM | Report abuse
KB sells the best mailing lists. Ask Brad.
Posted by: SREBEL | August 25, 2005 2:09 PM | Report abuse
see sig.
http://pibcash.com
Posted by: whore | August 25, 2005 2:22 PM | Report abuse
I sell short ICQ UIN
Posted by: Retard | August 25, 2005 2:35 PM | Report abuse
SEXUALLY-EXPLICIT: Cialis is the key to long lasting sex intercourse
Posted by: FilterMe | August 25, 2005 2:43 PM | Report abuse
Maybe this is the source of all that Perfect Gonzo Spam I get??
meowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww woof woof
Posted by: Juicy D. Links | August 25, 2005 2:45 PM | Report abuse
hit me up for cheap bulletproof servers
Posted by: bp hosting | August 25, 2005 2:51 PM | Report abuse
For one, yes, let's execute spammers and let child rapists and murders out of the jails because they are full...William you are a fool.
And who can I start going after for the 100's of unwanted flyers or CC apps that I get in the mail? Someone should die for that, afterall 1000's of trees are dying all of the time because of useless mail box spam.
Oh and I see Mr Juicy D. Links up there complaining about spam, oh the irony coming from a spammer!
Posted by: uridiots | August 25, 2005 3:02 PM | Report abuse
funny. i called the DoJ about this. They say NO indictments are immenent.
Posted by: matt | August 25, 2005 3:11 PM | Report abuse
I have $4 million in cash under my bed
wink wink
Posted by: Tytan | August 25, 2005 3:17 PM | Report abuse
They should have moved offshore like that spammer juicy did. Hows Costa Rica?
Posted by: irony | August 25, 2005 3:18 PM | Report abuse
I left a perfectly valid comment. Stop deleting shit. Is this an open discussion or not ?
Posted by: STOP THE LIES | August 25, 2005 3:32 PM | Report abuse
The bigger spammers reside in New York, one by the name of Jubin Nikravesh. He is a front for much of the Perfect Gonzo Spam.
Posted by: Huge Spammer | August 25, 2005 3:38 PM | Report abuse
haha! 0wned!
Big Brother is watching
Posted by: SPAM REPORTER | August 25, 2005 3:41 PM | Report abuse
Hey guys. The only stuff that gets deleted is the really offensive stuff, like the guy who posted a link to Goatse - that's not cool.
Posted by: Bk | August 25, 2005 3:48 PM | Report abuse
Jubin Nikravesh Joe Lackey, and the Rosenblatt brothers are next.
Posted by: Grimshawn | August 25, 2005 3:51 PM | Report abuse
The washington post sucks.
Posted by: eddi | August 25, 2005 3:54 PM | Report abuse
They are back!
Posted by: nojob | August 25, 2005 3:59 PM | Report abuse
Beemk is the biggest spammer out of Michigan
Goes by that nick
Posted by: Beemk | August 25, 2005 4:05 PM | Report abuse
Brad Shaw and SIC Cash have been sending me spam for years- maybe one day someone in Texas will wake up and realize what kind of criminal enterprise he runs
Posted by: Warren Cuccurrullo | August 25, 2005 4:06 PM | Report abuse
PRESS the delete button!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Whiny People | August 25, 2005 4:06 PM | Report abuse
Chirp Chirp
Posted by: The Flamingo | August 25, 2005 4:08 PM | Report abuse
Microsoft is the biggest spammer ever
Posted by: spammer corp | August 25, 2005 4:10 PM | Report abuse
How dumb can you be?
Repatriating money from offshore accounts while living in this country is ILLEGAL
Sending Non Can Spam Compliant emails- is Illegal.
Somehow most people in this business seem to think they are too smart for the government or anyone else-
Greed may have been good for Gordon Gecko- but it's killing spammers one by one.
Posted by: KB | August 25, 2005 4:11 PM | Report abuse
The washington post sucks.
Posted by: GFY IDIOTS | August 25, 2005 4:18 PM | Report abuse
Idiots 4 life
Posted by: GFY IDIOTS | August 25, 2005 4:20 PM | Report abuse
Juicy is a sexy BEAST!
Posted by: 12inches | August 25, 2005 6:49 PM | Report abuse
Trey Hickey of Texas and now California, is a huge spammer.
http://www.epiccash.com is the front for the spam operation. FTC is currently investigating them.
Posted by: Master Spammer | August 27, 2005 2:44 PM | Report abuse
THIS ARTICLE IS PHAT !
Posted by: SumGuy | August 28, 2005 10:14 PM | Report abuse
Stop racism against whites in schools and the work place
Posted by: James | September 27, 2005 1:06 AM | Report abuse
The comments to this entry are closed.
Considering the damage to the economy, out of pocket expenses and annoyance, why don't we just execute spammers? After the first few, the rest will get the message.