Earthlink wins cash from spammers

Oh Mama, it's the Alabama spammer

By John Oates • Get more from this author

Posted in Spam, 26th January 2005 09:57 GMT

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Two members of the Alabama Spam Ring, really, have paid undisclosed damages to Earthlink and signed a court order promising to never send another spam email.

Earthlink began legal action in February 2004 against the Alabama Spammers - so called because of their use of phone lines around Birmingham, Alabama. The Alabama Spam Ring, comprising 16 individuals and organisations, sent more than 250 million unsolicited emails. The lawsuit accused Damon DeCrescenzo and David Burstyn of using false names and addresses to try and hide their identities. They used dynamically-hosted websites to advertise Viagra, herbal supplements, matchmaking and spam services.

The two were charged with breaking federal and state laws including RICO laws, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and the Georgia Computer Systems Protection Act. They were accused of using stolen and falsified credit cards, identity theft and banking fraud.

At the time DeCrescenzo was one of the world's worst spammers - according to Spamhaus's list: the Register of Known Spam Operations.

Larry Slovensky, assistant general counsel for Earthlink, said filing lawsuits and seeking court orders that put alleged spammers out of business is "an important way that EarthLink helps preserve the integrity of the internet for all users." Earthlink previously won judgments, and a $16.4m settlement, against Howard Carmack, the Buffalo Spammer.

The Earthlink press release is here. ®