Disgruntled Fan Arrested, Indicted For Spam Attacks

An anonymous reader submits: "A *very* interesting precedent here might get set here. A California man has been arrested by the FBI for sending spam spoofing the From: email address of several Philadelphia-area newspaper editors and writers. The charges relate to the damage caused by having the bounces sent back to the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News, with a total of more than 160,000 bounced emails. Maximum penalties: 471 years in federal prison, $117 million in fines." And not just arrested, either -- Reader red_dragon points to the indictment (PDF linked from this U.S. Attorney's Office release).

Comments

Hmmm

[Anonymous Coward]

A *very* interesting precendent here might get set here.

This might *not* have been read by a slashdot editor might *not* have read this.

Re:Punishment fitting the crime?

[theglassishalf]

Thus the old maxim:

Never tick off people who buy paper by the roll and ink by the barral.

-Daniel

Re:Uhm

[mythosaz]

Forged canadian emails are only worth 5/8ths of a day in a US prison.

Journalism 101

[Dachannien]

Why did the article authors mention the guy being a possible white supremacist? They say that in the first paragraph, as if it were something important, and then don't bother going on to connect that to the events described in the article.

I mean, generally speaking, most people agree that any form of racist supremacy is bad, but if it doesn't have anything to do with the charges against him, then mentioning it just incites the audience unfairly. If his political views do have something to do with his actions, then they should have let us know instead of leaving us hanging.

Justice?

[Kaa]

Yes, VERY interesting...

Let's look at California penal code.

How about throwing acid in someone's face?

244. Any person who willfully and maliciously places or throws, or causes to be placed or thrown, upon the person of another, any
vitriol, corrosive acid, flammable substance, or caustic chemical of any nature, with the intent to injure the flesh or disfigure the body of that person, is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three or four years.

OK, let's see, what if I attack someone with a knife?

245. (a) (1) Any person who commits an assault upon the person of another with a deadly weapon or instrument other than a firearm or by any means of force likely to produce great bodily injury shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years

Hell, given that Arnie is now governator of California what happens if I start spraying machinegun fire around?

(3) Any person who commits an assault upon the person of another with a machinegun, as defined in Section 12200, or an assault weapon, as defined in Section 12276 or 12276.1, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 4, 8, or 12 years.

So, four years in jail for permanently disfiguring someone, four years for cutting somebody up with a knife, twelve for machinegunning people and... 471 years for spoofing a From: email header.

Ah, yes, justice...

Re:Justice?

[Ixitar]

You are forgetting the fact that the 471 years are multiple sentences running consecutively.

Now, lets take a look at your examples again.

Disfiguring with acid

10 victims = 20 - 40 years
100 victims = 200 - 400 years

cutting someone up with a knife

10 victims = 20 - 40 years
100 victims = 200 - 400 years

Gunning down people with a machine gun

10 victims = 40 - 120 years
100 victims = 400 - 1200 years

He has 79 counts of computer-hacking related offenses and also with identity theft. Over 160,000 forged e-mails. Lets try using two years for each computer-hacking offense

79 * 2 = 158 years

That leaves 313 years for the forged e-mails.

When prosecuting someone, it is a good idea to charge the perpetrator with as many offenses as possible. I think that the cracking offenses alone are sufficient, but a little overkill definitely sends a message.

Mr. Carlson's alleged activities were definitely overkill.

Re:A very (ludicrous, retarded, draconian) precede

[dr_dank]

Prison is for people dangerous to society. Murderers, rapists, other assorted thugs. Society isn't helped because a spammer is in jail

Research shows that many inmates tend to become even more hardened criminals once they are sent to prison.

When he gets out in 2471, society better watch out.