Nevada Man Pleads Guilty to Sending Spam to Facebook Users

[bertramhall]

A Nevada man pleaded guilty Monday to sending more than 27 million spam messages to Facebook users, federal officials said.

U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag said Sanford Wallace, of Las Vegas admitted in federal court in San Jose, California, to accessing about 500,000 Facebook accounts and sending unsolicited ads disguised as friend posts over a three-month span.
Wallace is free on bond and scheduled to be sentenced in December. He faces a $250,000 fine and up to three years in prison.

Nevada Man Pleads Guilty to Sending Spam to Facebook Users

$250,000 fine or 3 years in prison? I`ll repeat a huge fine or prison!
Don`t you think that`s too much just for spreading spam? Why don`t they sentence policemen who kill people or terrorists who initiate massive shootings? Why is Charleston shooter still alive? I don`t advocate spammers and I hate spam. But I think that the Judicial system sees obstructions in their work.

 

[waltky]

'Facebook spam king' jailed in US...

'Spam King' sentenced to two years in prison
Wed, 15 Jun 2016 - A US man who sent more than 27 million spam emails to Facebook users is sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

Sanford Wallace, 47, is nicknamed the "Spam King" and last year pleaded guilty to federal charges including fraud and criminal contempt in connection with using electronic mail. Wallace, who is from Las Vegas, also faces a fine of $310,000 (£218,500). The messages were sent to Facebook users in 2008 and 2009.

An FBI investigation resulted in Wallace's prosecution after he turned himself in, in 2011. "Wallace illegally obtained, stored, and exploited Facebook user account information and earned money by redirecting users to other websites," a statement from the US Attorney's Office said.

Wallace tricked users into visiting websites after gaining access to people's Facebook accounts and then using those accounts to send spam messages to friends. He earned money by sending users to these destinations and stored email addresses and passwords in order to continue sending spam.

'Spam King' sentenced to two years in prison - BBC News