The war on spam is just as doomed as the war on drugs, but the FBI has won a battle, bringing down a bulk commercial e-mail ring that pimped Chinese penny stocks into unwilling inboxes. They also developed bot network that helped spam avoid detection.
prison
Madoff Asks Judge For 12-Year Sentence
By 6.23.09
“Mr. Madoff is currently 71 years old and has an approximate life expectancy of 13 years,” wrote Sorkin, whose letter was released on Tuesday. “A prison term of 12 years – just short of an effective life sentence – will sufficiently address the goals of deterrence, protecting the public and promoting respect for the law.”
Wendy's Employee Gets Prison Time For Putting Hair In Burger
By 6.2.09
Remember Thomas Bender? He was the Wendy’s employee in West Virginia who garnished a police officer’s sandwich with a ball of pubic hair earlier this year. He’s just been sentenced to 6 months in prison and 2 years probation.
Man Who Poisoned Children In Campbell's Soup Fraud Sentenced To 100 Years
By 5.22.09
In January 2006, William Cunningham laced soup with lighter fluid, peppers, and eventually Prozac and Amitriptyline, then fed it to his 18-month-old daughter and 3-year-old son. He then claimed the soup had been tampered with and threatened to sue Campbell Soup if they didn’t pay up. Yesterday he was sentenced to 100 years in prison.
By 2.10.09
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We suppose people in prison are consumers, too. The state of California’s prison system has just been declared unconstitutional due to severe overcrowding. CNN says “California must reduce the number of inmates in its overcrowded prison system by up to 40 percent to stop a constitutional violation of prisoners’ rights.” Raise your hand if you want to go home. [CNN]
Court Changes Mind, Strikes Down Anti-Spam Law
By 9.12.08
The court noted that “were the ‘Federalist Papers’ just being published today via e-mail, that transmission by Publius would violate the [current Virginia] statute.”
Who's Smiling Now? Enzyte Scammer Gets 25 Years In Prison
By 8.28.08
Steve Warshak, founder of the company responsible for “Enzyte,” has been sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $93,000, says the AP. U.S. District Judge S. Arthur Spiegel also ordered the company, along with other defendants, to forfeit more than $500 million that it bilked from consumers.
By 7.16.08
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A man who spammed 1.2 million AOL customers was sentenced to 30 months in prison yesterday. Now how will we ever find out how to make bigger p3nz? Oh wait, here comes another spam… [CNN Money]
Man Sentenced For $3.6 Million Credit Card Fraud
By 4.21.08
A Californian named Andrew Michael (not pictured at left) was sentenced to four years in federal prison last week for scamming Citibank and credit card companies by fraudulently applying for an $8.5 million commercial line of credit—some $2 million of which he spent on personal goods for himself, including “170 troy ounces of silver, 479 tubes of gold flakes, [and] a Rolex watch.”
Prison Officials Lose Flash Drive With Data On 3,500 Volunteers And Visitors
By 3.31.08
The San Francisco Chronicle has reported that “a flash memory drive containing names, birth dates and driver’s license numbers of more than 3,500 people who either volunteered or visited San Quentin State Prison in a group tour has been lost.” Our reader Paul, who sent us the tip, adds, “When I read it my first thought was, “Gee, I wonder what the chances are of this personal data ending up in criminal hands? Mmm, maybe 100%.” Our favorite part of the story: the data wasn’t encrypted, but prison officials have said that now they’re going to start encrypting it.
Second Jersey Scammer Who Claimed To Cure Lou Gehrig's Disease Imprisoned
By 12.28.07
On December 12th, the U.S. District Court of New Jersey sentenced Elizabeth Lerner, a.k.a. Elizabeth Cooperman, to 33 months in prison for “falsely claiming that she could cure amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly called ‘Lou Gehrig’s Disease.'” Her crime partner, former osteopath Charlene C. DeMarco, was sentenced to 57 months back in September.
More Warnings About The Increasingly Popular *72 Phone Scam
By 11.21.07
The *72 phone scam is growing in popularity, according to the Houston Chronicle, and Comcast is warning consumers about it.
