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Spammer Sentenced to Nine Years in Jail
PC World ^ | Friday, November 05, 2004 | Linda Rosencrance, Computerworld

Posted on 12/02/2004 5:02:34 AM PST by snopercod

Case results in the nation's first-ever felony spam convictions.

A brother and sister were convicted this week of three felony charges of sending thousands of junk e-mails through servers located in Virginia, according to Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore.

The convictions of Jeremy Jaynes, who was sentenced to nine years in prison, and his sister, Jessica DeGroot, who was fined $7500, were the nation's first-ever felony spam convictions, Kilgore says in a statement. A third defendant, Richard Rutkowski, was found not guilty, the attorney general says. The cases were heard in Loudoun County Circuit Court.

The case was prosecuted by members of the attorney general's Computer Crimes Unit under Virginia's new antispam law, which took effect last year.

"This is a major victory for Virginians and all Americans," Kilgore says in the statement. "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 e-mails create havoc as they attempt to conduct commerce."

Jaynes was rated the world's eighth-most prolific spammer by the Register of Known Spam Operations, Kilgore says.

DeGroot was convicted after prosecutors proved she had used her credit card to purchase domain names for the purpose of sending spam. Jaynes surrendered to authorities in Raleigh, North Carolina, last December. DeGroot turned herself in to authorities in April.

Thousands of Messages Sent

According to the indictment, the spam was sent in 2003 between July 11 and August 9. And spam sent on July 16, 19, and 26 of that year exceeded 10,000 messages during each 24-hour period, according to the statement. Kilgore says those numbers don't reflect the total number of messages sent, because they were based solely on actual complaints made by customers to their Internet service providers.

The indictment also alleged that the sender falsified transmission or routing information to prevent recipients from knowing who had sent the messages and how to contact the sender.

This falsified information is what makes such spam a crime in Virginia, and the volume of e-mails sent during the period is what elevated the charge to a felony, according to the statement.

Jaynes' Virginia attorney, David Oblon, could not be reached for comment.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; News/Current Events; US: Virginia
KEYWORDS: degroot; jaynes; jerrykilgore; kilgore; spam
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1 posted on 12/02/2004 5:02:35 AM PST by snopercod
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To: F15Eagle

...a little followup on the article you posted last month.


2 posted on 12/02/2004 5:03:37 AM PST by snopercod (Bigger government means clinton won. Less freedom means Osama won. Get it?)
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To: snopercod

Awww, I was hoping for the death penalty...


3 posted on 12/02/2004 5:08:09 AM PST by 14erClimb
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To: snopercod

YYYEEESSSSSSS!!!! Two down and many to go!! Any spammers reading this?? You're next!!


4 posted on 12/02/2004 5:09:56 AM PST by Eric (I got tired of the old tagline and chose this one.)
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To: snopercod

Another one bites the dust!


5 posted on 12/02/2004 5:11:18 AM PST by Constantine XIII
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To: snopercod
Spammer Sentenced to Nine Years in Jail

My mother always told me SPAM was not good for you.

6 posted on 12/02/2004 5:12:23 AM PST by beyond the sea (I know beyond a doubt ...... my heart will lead me there)
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To: snopercod
That's only a few minutes of hard time for each piece of spam.
7 posted on 12/02/2004 5:13:51 AM PST by Salman
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To: snopercod
Convict: "What are you in for, kid?"

Jaynes: "SPAM."

Convict: "You look pretty cute in that jumpsuit, boy."

8 posted on 12/02/2004 5:15:21 AM PST by Recovering Hermit
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To: snopercod

Then hows come I'm still getting a gazillion spams every day??


9 posted on 12/02/2004 5:15:32 AM PST by DC native
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To: snopercod

Good! These spammers are only a slight step above serial killers and child molesters in my book. Hope they encounter some mean drug kingpins or armed robbers who were computer owners in the outside world....


10 posted on 12/02/2004 5:15:42 AM PST by Welsh Rabbit
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To: snopercod

Nine years in jail? Maybe he should have killed somebody - he might serve less time.


11 posted on 12/02/2004 5:20:39 AM PST by JoeBob255
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To: DC native

12 posted on 12/02/2004 5:20:52 AM PST by Jn316
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To: DC native

I am averaging 34 spams per hour for two addresses. I have had these addresses for 10+ years, and I really hate to let them go. If I do not check my email a couple of times a day, it is more than I can do to clean it up. I just delete everything.


13 posted on 12/02/2004 5:22:00 AM PST by devane617
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To: Jn316

LOL


14 posted on 12/02/2004 5:25:39 AM PST by DC native
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To: snopercod

May his cellmate be a guy who answered every e-mail touting "enlargement" pills, potions and surgery.


15 posted on 12/02/2004 5:26:07 AM PST by BlazingArizona
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To: devane617

Dude, yer being STALKED! That's a lot o' spam! Actually, I only have trouble with Hotmail, which I consider to be the armpit of email services. I've guarded my Yahoo address and only given it to friends and family, and I get very little spam in that account.


16 posted on 12/02/2004 5:27:59 AM PST by DC native
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To: devane617

Call your ISP and ask to change your password. I got a lot less spams when I did that.


17 posted on 12/02/2004 5:28:04 AM PST by kitkat
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To: kitkat

I don't see the connection. What does the password you use on your ISP have to do with the type of email you receive?


18 posted on 12/02/2004 5:41:11 AM PST by DJ Frisat (Hand me the duct tape before my head explodes...)
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To: snopercod

19 posted on 12/02/2004 5:57:18 AM PST by frithguild (Withdraw from the 1967 Treaty on the Exploration an Use of Outer Space - Establish Private Property)
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To: snopercod; Recovering Hermit

In a just world, his cellmate will have bought lots of V/I/A/G/R/A ONLINE!


20 posted on 12/02/2004 5:58:10 AM PST by Constitution Day
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