Peter Moshou, also known as the “Timeshare Spammer”, was one of the first to face criminal prosecution under the anti-spam legislation, according to ISP Earthlink.
Moshou, from Florida, was originally sued in the civil courts by Earthlink, which accused him of violating the CAN-SPAM Act by, among other charges, falsifying the "from" field in email addresses (spoofing), using deceptive subject lines, failing to identify the sender and failing to provide an electronic unsubscribe option.
Earthlink helped in providing evidence to prosecutors in the criminal action – to which Moshou pleaded guilty in June.
He has now been sentenced to one year in prison, and ordered to pay $120,000 in restitution.
Earthlink has also seen recent success in another CAN-SPAM suit; winning $15.4 million in damages from Miami-based spammer Craig Brockwell and his firm BC Alliance Inc late last month. US District Court Judge Beverly B Martin also granted an injunction against the defendants.
Brockwell and his company had been accused of sending hundreds of thousands of unsolicited emails advertising discount ink jet printer cartridges and other printer supplies.
“Obtaining a judgment against an individual like Brockwell and working with law enforcement to provide evidence in criminal prosecutions benefits all internet users. Both of these cases represent more examples of how civil litigation and legal action can put spammers out of business," said Larry Slovensky, assistant general counsel for EarthLink.
The CAN-SPAM Act, which came into force on 1st January 2004, established a framework of administrative, civil, and criminal tools to tackle unsolicited commercial email.
It provides for a national Do-Not-Spam list; requires that spam sent to consumers includes a means of opting-out of the mailing list used by the sender; bans the sending of fraudulent emails or unmarked sexually oriented emails, and provides for civil and criminal sanctions for those spammers who breach the rules.
The penalties may amount to fines of $6 million and five years in prison in the most severe cases.
