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stories filed under: "spamford"
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by Mike Masnick


Filed Under:
sanford wallace, spam, spamford

Companies:
facebook



Sanford Wallace Loses Again; Owes Facebook $711 Million

from the good-luck-collecting dept

Sanford "Spamford" Wallace, of course, was the original "spam king" back in the 1990s. Despite his claim to have reformed at one point, he apparently has been spamming various social networks and advertising spyware. Back in 2004, the FTC investigated him and fined him $4 million. Last year, MySpace won a $234 million judgment against him. Wallace responded by disappearing. At one point, even his lawyer couldn't find him. Earlier this year, when Facebook sued him for spamming their users as well, it seemed unlikely that he would bother to respond. Surprising pretty much everyone, he showed up in court, though claimed he was totally bankrupt. Either way, Facebook has just been awarded a $711 million judgment against him. Facebook, of course, will never see a dime of that money. But, the real question is what else can be done to stop Wallace. He's been spamming for well over a decade at this point, and despite multiple multi-million dollar judgments against him, he hasn't stopped. What else can be done?

49 Comments | Leave a Comment..

 
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by Mike Masnick


Filed Under:
criminal charges, sanford wallace, spamford, spamming

Companies:
facebook



Will Spamford Wallace Finally Face Criminal Charges?

from the looking-that-way dept

If you've been around the tech world for a while, you should know the name Sanford Wallace -- better know as Spamford. He was one of the first big spammers in the 90s, and quite proud of it. After a variety of lawsuits, he claimed he had gone straight, and even opened a nightclub somewhere. But it wasn't long before he was back in the game, and accused of being in the spyware business by the FTC. In response... Wallace disappeared (even his lawyer couldn't find him), and he was eventually fined $4 million. Last year, MySpace sued Wallace (who, again didn't bother showing up) and won $234 million (which it will never see, of course).

Earlier this year, Facebook sued him for spamming Facebook as well -- and, par for the course, he didn't bother showing up at all... until Friday. Apparently he first declared bankruptcy on Thursday and showed up at the court hearing on Friday. The bankruptcy protects him against the unpaid fines for now... but, the hearing on Friday was about handing the case over to federal prosecutors, given the contempt for the law Wallace has shown to date. In other words, he can try to disappear again, but he may end up in prison, rather than just ducking out on the hundreds of millions of dollars he owes for spamming.

3 Comments | Leave a Comment..

 
Scams

Scams

by Mike Masnick


Filed Under:
can spam, fines, sanford wallace, social networks, spam, spamford, walter rines

Companies:
myspace



MySpace Wins An Uncollectable $234 Million Award In Spam Case

from the sending-a-message? dept

Last month, we wrote about how MySpace had won its case against Sanford "Spamford" Wallace -- the infamous 1990s "Spam King" who (despite losing many court battles and owing millions in fines) simply can't seem to give up his obsession with scammy marketing techniques. The win was a default judgment, mainly because Wallace simply disappeared and stopped responding to court requests. Today, a judge ruled on the punishment, officially awarding MySpace $234 million from Wallace and his associate Walter Rines. Given Wallace's disappearing act (which he's done in the past as well) it's unlikely that MySpace will ever see a dime of the money, but that hasn't stopped the company from touting this as the largest ever award under CAN SPAM. Amusingly, the extremely short court ruling also bars Wallace from setting up any new MySpace profiles. It doesn't say anything about Facebook, though, so perhaps that's where we'll see him next...

18 Comments | Leave a Comment..

 
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