Porn Spam Miscreants Get 5 Years In Prison
In June, a federal jury in Phoenix convicted Jeffrey A. Kilbride, 41, of Venice, Calif., and James R. Schaffer, 41, of Paradise Valley, Ariz. on eight counts of violating the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, the first law specifically aimed at stemming the tide of pornographic spam.
In addition to the prison terms, U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell of the District of Arizona ordered Kilbride and Shaffer to forfeit $1.1 million, the sum total of their ill gotten gains. The two were also fined $100,000.
In 2003, Kilbride and Schaffer barraged Internet users with millions of spam messages touting pornographic Websites, the bulk of which contained hard core pornographic images. More than 1.5 million spam recipients subsequently filed complaints with America Online and the Federal Trade Commission, according to the U.S. Department Of Justice.
After CAN-SPAM went into effect in late 2003, the Phoenix-based pair began channeling spam through servers abroad, and laundering the spam proceeds through a fictitious company and bank accounts in the Republic of Mauritius and the Isle of Man.
Kilbride and Schaffer carried out their spamming efforts with the help of three accomplices, all of whom accepted plea bargains in exchange for their testimony against the pair.
One of the more bizarre aspects of the case is that one of the co-conspirators, Jennifer Clason, 32, of Tempe, Ariz., runs Mommyjobs.com, which bills itself as "a support site for other work at home mothers or anyone else who wishes to quit their jobs to be home."
In a March 2006 entry on the Mommyjobs.com forums, Clason fessed up to her involvement in the porn spam operations and also admitted that she doesn't have any children.