Virginia Court Convicts Spammer, Recommends Nine Years in Prison

Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore recently announced the nation's first-ever felony spam convictions in Loudoun County Circuit Court. Using a new Virginia law considered the toughest in America, jurors convicted defendants Jeremy D. Jaynes and his sister, Jessica DeGroot of three felony charges of fraudulently sending thousands of illegal, unsolicited bulk e-mails. Jaynes was sentenced to nine years in prison and DeGroot was fined $7,500. A third defendant, Richard Rutkowski, was found not guilty. The case was prosecuted by members of the Attorney General's Computer Crimes Unit.

"This is a major victory for Virginians and all Americans," Kilgore said. "Spam is a nuisance to millions of Americans, but it is also a major problem for businesses large and small because the thousands of unwanted e-mails create havoc as they attempt to conduct commerce."

Jaynes was rated as the world's eighth-most prolific spammer by the Register of Known Spam Operators. DeGroot was convicted after prosecutors proved she had used her credit card to purchase domain names for the purpose of sending spam. Jaynes (aka: "Jeremy James" and "Gaven Stubberfield") surrendered to authorities in Raleigh, North Carolina in December 2003. DeGroot turned herself in to authorities in April 2004.

The indictment alleged that spam was sent between July 11, 2003 and August 9, 2003 through servers located in Virginia. Specifically, spam sent on July 16, 19 and 26 exceeded 10,000 messages during each 24-hour period. These numbers do not reflect the total number of messages sent, as they are based solely on actual complaints received by Internet Service Providers from their customers. The indictment also alleged that the sender falsified transmission or routing information to prevent recipients from knowing who sent the messages and how to contact the sender.

The falsification of header or routing information prevents the receiver from knowing who sent the spam as well as preventing the recipient from contacting the sender through the 'from address' of the e-mail. This fraud is what makes such e-mail a crime in Virginia and the volume that was sent during this period elevates the charge to a felony.

Virginia's anti-spam law, authored by Kilgore and sponsored in the 2003 General Assembly by Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites-Davis (Vienna) and Sen. Ken Stolle (Virginia Beach), prohibits the sending of unsolicited bulk e-mail by fraudulent means. Such activity is punishable as a class 1 misdemeanor or as a class 6 felony if any one of the following conditions applies:

• The volume of spam transmitted exceeds 10,000 in any 24-hour time period, 100,000 in any 30-day time period, or one million in any one-year time period.
• Revenue generated from specific Spam exceeds $1,000 or total revenue from all Spam transmitted to any ISP exceeds $50,000.
• The defendant knowingly hires, employs, uses or permits any minor to assist in the transition of spam.

A class 6 felony is punishable by a one to five-year prison sentence, or up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500, or both, at the discretion of the jury or court. The legislation also includes asset forfeiture provisions to allow law enforcement authorities to seize any assets or proceeds obtained through the illegal spam operation. It also enhances penalties for violation of Virginia obscenity laws through the sending of illegal e-mails. The legislation authorizes the Attorney General's Computer Crime Unit to investigate and prosecute spammers if illegal e-mails are sent to, from, or through any computer or computer network located in any Virginia locality. More than half of the Internet traffic in the world passes through Virginia.