Spam Gang Leader Fined $15.2 Million

Australia-based 'Lance Atkinson' the infamous gang leader of Herbal King, an illegal group of spammers, has been penalized around $15 Million following a legal prosecution against him, according to the United States Federal Trade Commission, as reported by Softpedia on December 1, 2009.

During an investigation conducted by the anti-spam compliance division of the New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs, the gang leader acknowledged that he had carried out the operation in 2008, Lance Atkinson, his brother 'Shane Atkinson' and 'Ronald Smits' of Christchurch operated a spam campaign which had distributed over 2 Million unsolicited e-mails to computer users in New Zealand over three months during 2008, according to the investigation.

These spam mails marketed Herbal King, Express Herbal and Elite Herbal pharmaceutical items all over the globe. Their text stated that the medicinal drugs were from a US-licensed pharmacy that sells generic medicines authorized by the US Federal Food and Drug Administration.

But, according to FTC, the defendants didn't run a US-licensed pharmacy, while they acquired the medicines from India and sold them without getting them authorized by the FDA.

The Commission also discovered that Lance along with Jody Smith (an American) had employed people from different parts of the world for spamming job.

Meanwhile, New Zealand national Lance Atkinson, following the investigation, was prosecuted in his home country under the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act of 2007. In December 2008, a judge penalized him with a $57,000 fine because his actions affected computer users in NZ.

Christine French, a NZ Judge, said - when the prosecution was going on, the Herbal King Spam network had already played an immense role in the history of Internet fraud, as reported by Nzherald on December 1, 2009.

The judge would have fined Lance Atkinson for a higher amount of around $200,000, but didn't do so because he cooperated with officials and because his network started when it wasn't illegal to spam.

Meanwhile, Smith could get a five-year imprisonment, while he has to pay around US$ 212,000 and possibly a fine of around US$ 3.77 Million.

Related article: Spam Scam Bags a Scottish Connection

» SPAMfighter News - 12/8/2009