Uh Oh, There’s that Pesky 'You-Can-Spam' Act Again

Whoa! Now lookee what we have here. Another courtroom victory for the Can Spam Act: you know, that anti-spam law that’s supposed to suck.

Alan Ralksy—possibly the most infamous spammer right behind Sanford Wallace—was sentenced yesterday to more than four years in prison, or 51 months to be exact.

Let’s go to the press release announcing the sentencing of Ralsky and others to see if we can spot a pattern.

“Alan M. Ralsky, 64, of West Bloomfield, Mich., and Scott Bradley, 48, also of West Bloomfield, were sentenced to 51 months and 40 months in prison, respectively, for conspiring to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and to violate the CAN-SPAM Act, and also for committing wire fraud, engaging in money laundering and violating the CAN-SPAM Act. Ralsky and Bradley were also each sentenced to five years of supervised release following their respective prison terms, and were each ordered to forfeit $250,000 that the United States seized in December 2007,” said the release.

“How Wai John Hui, 51, a resident of Hong Kong and Canada, was sentenced to 51 months in prison for conspiring to commit wire fraud, mail fraud and to violate the CAN-SPAM Act, and also for committing wire fraud and engaging in money laundering. Hui was sentenced to three years of supervised release following his prison term, and agreed to forfeit $500,000 to the United States,” added the release.

“John S. Bown, 45, of Fresno, Calif., was sentenced to 32 months in prison for conspiring to commit wire fraud, mail fraud, and to violate the CAN-SPAM Act, for conspiring to commit computer fraud by creating a botnet, and also for violating the CAN-SPAM Act. A botnet is a network of computers that have been infected by malicious software. Bown was sentenced to three years of supervised release following his prison term, and agreed to forfeit $120,000 to the United States,” the release continued.

There’s a phrase in those sentences that just kind of pops out repeatedly—admittedly in part because it’s in all caps. But can anyone tell me what that phrase is? Why, yes. It’s the “CAN-SPAM Act.”

The most ridiculed, but by far the most leveraged anti-spam law on the planet, has been used to nail some bad guys … again.

News of the sentencing of Ralsky and his colleagues come on the heels of Sanford Wallace being ordered to pay $711 million to Facebook in a suit brought that accused Wallace of violating, among other things, that Can Spam Act.

Good thing the Can Spam Act doesn’t know it’s supposed to suck.