For Release: Thursday, December 11,
2003
Website: http://www.vaag.com/
Contact:
Tim Murtaugh or Carrie Cantrell
Phone: (804) 786-3518 or
(804) 786-4596
E-Mail: tmurtaugh@oag.state.va.us or
ccantrell@oag.state.va.us
Kilgore Announces Nation’s First Felony Spam
Arrest
- World’s Eighth-Worst Spam
Kingpin Ensnared by Tough New Virginia Law -
DULLES – Attorney General Jerry Kilgore
today announced the nation’s first felony charges and arrest for using
fraudulent means to send illegal unsolicited bulk electronic mail, known
as "spam," over the Internet. Using Virginia’s new Anti-Spam law, a
Loudoun County grand jury has indicted a Spam Kingpin regarded as the
eighth-worst spam distributor in the world. The new law, authored by
Kilgore earlier this year, is considered the toughest in the nation and
was used as the model for the criminal portion of the federal
legislation. Kilgore made the announcement at the headquarters of
America Online in Dulles, Virginia, with representatives of AOL, MCI and
UUNet.
"Anyone who has e-mail certainly knows about
Spam – that frustrating, unwanted e-mail that shows up every day by the
dozens or hundreds in your in-box," Kilgore said. "Spam has a direct,
negative impact on the efficiency and effectiveness of the free
enterprise system and day-to-day operations of
business."
Law enforcement authorities executed a search
warrant and arrested Jeremy Jaynes (aka: "Jeremy James" and "Gaven
Stubberfield") in Raleigh, North Carolina, Thursday morning and charged
him with four felony counts of using fraudulent means to transmit
unsolicited bulk e-mail in violation of Virginia’s Anti-Spam law, which
allows for prosecution in Virginia if any part of the illegal
transactions take place in any locality in the Commonwealth. Extradition
procedures are underway to return Jaynes for prosecution in Loudoun
County, Virginia, where the grand jury indicted him on Monday. "Gaven
Stubberfield" is listed as the eighth-most prolific spammer by the
Register of Known Spam Operations (ROKSO) available on the spam
information website http://www.spamhaus.com/. He faces
four felony charges, each carrying punishment of one- to five-years in
prison, a fine of up to $2,500, or both.
"The indictment alleges that the defendant
falsified or forged electronic mail transmission information or other
routing information in connection with the transmission of the spam,"
Kilgore said. "This falsification prevents the receiver from knowing who
sent the SPAM or contacting them through the ‘from address’ of the
e-mail. This is what makes this e-mail a crime in Virginia and the
volume that was sent during this period elevates the charge to a
felony."
The indictment alleges that spam was sent
between July 11, 2003 and August 9, 2003 through servers located in
Virginia. Specifically, spam sent on July 16, 19 and 26 exceeded 10,000
messages during each 24-hour period. Additionally, spam messages in
excess of 100,000 were sent during the 30-day period between July 11 and
August 11. These numbers do not reflect the total number of messages
sent, as they are based solely on actual complaints received by Internet
Service Providers from their customers. The indictment also alleges that
the sender falsified transmission or routing information to prevent
recipients from knowing who sent the messages and how to contact the
sender.
The investigation was initiated by the
Attorney General’s Computer Crime Unit in August with the assistance of
the investigative arms of various Internet Service Providers. The
investigation followed three routes: the domain names in the e-mails,
the ISPs in the e-mails and the internet connections. Kilgore declined
to provide further details of the investigation, citing the coming
felony prosecutions.
Kilgore’s anti-spam law, sponsored in the
2003 General Assembly by Del. Jeannemarie Devolites (Vienna) and Sen.
Ken Stolle (Virginia Beach), prohibits the sending of unsolicited bulk
e-mails by fraudulent means, such as changing the header or routing
information to prevent recipients from contacting or knowing the
identity of the sender. Such activity is punishable as a class 1
misdemeanor, or as a class 6 felony if any one of the following
conditions applies:
- The volume of spam transmitted exceeds
10,000 in any 24-hour time period, 100,000 in any 30-day time
period, or one million in any one-year time period.
- Revenue generated from specific spam
exceeds $1,000 or total revenue from all spam transmitted to any ISP
exceeds $50,000.
- The defendant knowingly hires, employs,
uses or permits any minor to assist in the transition of
spam.
A class 6 felony is punishable by a one- to
five-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $2,500 or both. The
legislation also includes asset forfeiture provisions to allow law
enforcement authorities to seize any assets or proceeds obtained through
the illegal spam operation. It also enhances penalties for violation of
Virginia obscenity laws through the sending of illegal e-mails. The
legislation authorizes the Attorney General’s Computer Crime Unit to
investigate and prosecute spammers if illegal e-mails are sent to, from,
or through any computer or computer network located in any Virginia
locality.
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