Criminal law, International, Society

Spam in a Can: “Godfather of Spam” Sent to Jail for 51 Months

Last week saw the sentencing of one of society’s most despised characters, Alan Ralsky, 64, the self-proclaimed “Godfather of Spam.” Ralsky was sentenced to 51 months in jail and five years probation as well as a $250,000 property seizure.

Ralsky’s son-in-law Scott Bradley, 48, and two others were also sent to jail for wire and mail fraud and violating the CAN-SPAM Act, which criminalizes large, commercial e-mail messages sent using an unauthorized computer or with the intent to hide the e-mail’s original source.

Ralsky reportedly sent 70 million messages a day from fake names. In the specific scheme in this case, Ralsky and his team sent billions of illegal e-mail advertisements to inflate the price of Chinese penny stocks and then reaped the profit — making nearly $3 million during the summer of 2005. His accomplice How Wai John Hui was also sentenced to 51 months in prison and 3 years of probation, and he agreed to forfeit $500,000.

Ralsky is a former insurance salesman who lost his license due to misconduct and was previously convicted of federal crimes, here.

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8 thoughts on “Spam in a Can: “Godfather of Spam” Sent to Jail for 51 Months”

  1. Should’t SPAM be protected under the 1st amendment? I mean it’s writing and photo format. Is’t that protected. This seems like a misuse of justice.

  2. Byron–

    Elaine DOES know what she is missing! My husband and I used to go camping a lot when we were young. Spam was one of our food staples. Just thinking about eating Spam now gives me the shivers!

  3. Gyges:

    if you are hungry cold spam is like well cold spam.

    Fry the spam, melt the cheese, maybe fry the onions yum!

    Elaine doesn’t know what she is missing. Although it is always good to have a couple of beers while making the sandwich.

  4. Byron,

    Amen, assuming you insert a “fried” in there. Cold spam is gross. Warm spam is good as a very occasional treat.

  5. Elaine:

    I disagree, try it on pumpernickel with cheddar cheese and red onion with horseradish mustard and a good cold beer.

  6. Well this is a silver lining to the CAN-SPAM act… this unapologetic bastard finally got CAN-ned. It’s rare these days for a spammer to cheerfully announce his attention to send junk to every email address on the planet, his firm belief that he should be allowed to do so, and that people should not be filtering his crap. As I grow older, the memories fade, and eventually falter… but even if I get Alzheimer’s I’ll never forget the balls on this guy.

  7. Maybe Monty Python will come out with a new version of “Spamalot”–a modern-day musical based on Ralsky.

    AY–

    Spam is not good with anything!

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