Timeshare Spammer Jailed

Testimony from US ISP Earthlink has led to a one-year prison sentence for a notorious timeshare spammer. Peter Moshou was also ordered to pay $120,000 in compensation this week following his June conviction for violation of the CAN-SPAM Act. Moshou's criminal prosecution was among the first under US anti-spam legislation.

Moshou was charged with sending millions of spam emails in 2004 and 2005 seeking personal information by offering brokerage services for people interested in selling their timeshares after Earthlink sued him in January. EarthLink's lawsuit charged Moshou with CAN-SPAM violations including spoofing sender identities, using deceptive subject lines and failing to provide an electronic unsubscribe option.

Separately, EarthLink announced on Thursday that it secured a $15.4m court order last month against a man implicated in the distribution of hundreds of thousands of unsolicited emails advertising discount ink jet printer cartridges and other printer supplies. Like other such judgments it would seem unlikely that Craig Brockwell and his company, BC Alliance, will ever be able to pay up but the ruling does place an injunction against Brockwell preventing him from illegally spamming any internet user, regardless of the user's ISP.