A brother and sister who sent unsolicited junk e-mail to millions of America Online customers were convicted Wednesday in the nation’s first felony prosecution of distributors of spam.
After returning their verdict, jurors immediately began deliberating punishments for Jeremy D. Jaynes, 30, and Jessica DeGroot, 28, both of the Raleigh, N.C., area. Each could receive jail terms for fraudulently sending junk mail. A third defendant, Richard Rutkowski, was acquitted. Jurors deliberated 1½ days. Prosecutors compared Jaynes and DeGroot to modern-day snake oil salesmen who used the Internet to peddle junk like a “FedEx refund processor” that supposedly allowed people to earn $75 an hour for working from home. In one month alone, Jaynes received 10,000 credit card orders, each for $39.95 for the processor.
Source: Sun-Sentinel
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