Three people were indicted and a fourth pleaded guilty to criminal charges in the first case related to the transmission of obscene spam e-mails under a 2003 US anti-spam law, officials said.
The US Justice Department said late Thursday the charges target an operation that sent out tens of millions of unsolicited e-mails with sexually explicit embedded images and links to pornographic Web sites.
The nine-count indictment returned in Phoenix, Arizona, names Jennifer Clason, 32; Jeffrey Kilbride, 39; and James Schaffer, 39. They were charged with fraud and related activity under the federal CAN-SPAM Act and criminal conspiracy.
The indictment also charges Kilbride and Schaffer with interstate transportation of obscene material and money laundering.
"Americans are fed up with the tens of millions of unsolicited, sexually explicit e-mails received every day," acting Assistant Attorney General John Richter said.
"Today's announcement should send the message loud and clear that the department is committed to using the CAN-SPAM Act and the federal laws to stop those who invade the homes of American families with unwanted, obscene spam," Richter said.
According to the indictment, Clason, Kilbride and Schaffer conspired to create one of the largest spam operations in the world, possibly sending to tens of millions of people, to earn commissions for directing traffic to adult Web sites. It said America Online alone received more than 600,000 complaints between Jan. 30 and June 9 last year from its users on these e-mails.
The e-mails were also sent with the sender's name or origin disguised, a violation of the law. Some e-mails were sent from Internet Protocol addresses registered in the Netherlands and domain names registered in Mauritius, and the "From:" line was often falsified.
If convicted, Kilbride and Schaffer each face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on the money laundering charge, and five years in prison on the obscenity charges. All three defendants also face a maximum sentence of five years in prison on each of the spamming and criminal conspiracy charges.
The fourth person, Andrew Ellifson, 31, pleaded guilty in February to one count of violating the spam law and one count of criminal conspiracy. But the plea agreement had been sealed pending the other indictments.
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