Spam Law Claims First Conviction

A California man found guilty of running a phishing scam will face a sentence of up to 101 years in federal prison, according to an Associated Press report in The Mercury News.

Authorities say Jeffrey Brett Goodin is the first to be convicted under the federal CAN-SPAM antispam law for bilking America Online users out of credit card and billing data. He then used his ill-gotten gains to go on a shopping spree, the AP says.

Goodin’s scam included compromised e-mail accounts that appeared to be coming from the America Online billing department, which then directed victims to input sensitive data on websites he controlled, the AP reports.

Goodin was also convicted on 10 other charges, including wire fraud and attempted witness harassment, according to the AP. His sentencing date is June 11.

-Compiled by Shawna McAlearney