"AOL Wins $5M Judgment Against Spammer"

[RiotoftheBlood]

Fucking awesome. Hopefully this will make others think twice. I have no pity for the asshole whatsoever! I think it's hilarious. Taken from Yahoo! news.

By MATTHEW BARAKAT, Associated Press Writer Thu Jan 26, 8:07 PM ET

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A man who sent billions of junk e-mails hawking online college degrees, sexually explicit Web sites and "generic Viagra" must pay more than $5 million in penalties to America Online Inc., a federal judge ruled.
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Christopher William Smith, of Prior Lake, Minn., was considered one of the world's worst spammers, operating under the name Rizler. He is now in a Minnesota jail awaiting trial on criminal charges that he violated federal drug laws while operating an online pharmacy.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton ordered Smith to pay $5.3 million in damages and $287,000 in legal fees to AOL, which filed a civil suit against Smith under a 2004 federal law known as Can-Spam.

AOL spokesman Nicholas Graham said Smith "was the poster child for the Can-Spam Act."

"This is someone we've been pursuing for three years," Graham said. "It's one of the largest judgments we've received."

Hilton issued a summary judgment in favor of AOL, saying Smith "refused to participate in this case, willfully disregarding ... discovery obligations and failing to comply with multiple court orders."

Court records show that Smith's lawyers withdrew from the case several months after it was filed.

In addition to e-mails promoting generic Viagra and pornographic Web sites, Smith also advertised cable TV descramblers and penis enhancement pills.

In an initial response to AOL's lawsuit, Smith's lawyers denied wrongdoing and questioned the constitutionality of the Can-Spam law.

Graham said that AOL, the Dulles-based subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., has won tens of millions of dollars in judgments against more than 30 spammers under the federal law and a similar Virginia law.

 

[rarehero]

if this means less spam, then great.

 

[neobuyer]

He should get federal time- lots. What a piece of shit. No mercy- federal time and wage garnishments for 20+ years.

 

[galfordo]

GUTTED.

 

[aria]

For the record, lawyers did this.

 

[SSS]

For the record, lawyers did this.

You sure? I was under the impression that it was AOLs yellow running mans doing.

 

[PopeCuervoLime]

As one spammer falls, 20 more rise to take his place.

 

[Gameoz]

I can't stand AOL or Spammers, so I really don't know how I feel about this.

 

[iamyagami22]

I can't stand AOL or Spammers, so I really don't know how I feel about this.

I'm the same, AOL = spammers.

 

[Tron]

Fucking awesome. Hopefully this will make others think twice. I have no pity for the asshole whatsoever! I think it's hilarious. Taken from Yahoo! news.

I'm not a fan of, AOL but i hate spammers even more.

Now if only some body could... throw ppl in jail that make spyware

 

[Stinky-Dinkins]

This better not affect my supply of generic Viagra and TV descramblers.

 

[Capt. Lurker]

Court records show that Smith's lawyers withdrew from the case several months after it was filed.

His lawyers fucking bailed on him...

THAT RULES!!!

In addition to e-mails promoting generic Viagra and pornographic Web sites, Smith also advertised cable TV descramblers and penis enhancement pills.

I bet he's gonna need those penis enhancement pills now, even his dick left him!

Good for AOL, however that still won't change my attitude towards them...

THEY FUCKIN SUCK, AOL IS A VIRUS!!!

 

[OrochiEddie]

praie mozilla firefox

 

[goingmerry]

well i did't read any of the previous posts but i do hate aol with a passion. whenever i get those free trial cd's from them in the mail i take a knife and scratch up the top of the disk then send it back. data is destroyed and they have to pay for the return shipping.

 

[RiotoftheBlood]

You sure? I was under the impression that it was AOLs yellow running mans doing.

I believe he's trying to plug himself, as last I know Bobak was studying to be a lawyer.

And yeah, AOL does suck... but not as much as spam does.

 

[aria]

His lawyers fucking bailed on him...

THAT RULES!!!

To be fair, that would be very illegal to just cut-n-run (i.e., the lawyers could get sued for a lot of malpractice). From reading the article, the spammer probably didn't cooperate (and/or probably didn't pay them) so they were able to find a reason to withdraw. Considering the high profile of this case, no attorneys would just bail without cause, it would hurt their PR and risk disbarment.