Florida AG Claims Spam Victory
Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist last week said he won a permanent injunction against two men he alleged violated federal and Florida law with their e-mail marketing operation.
The judgment bars Scott J. Filary and Donald E. Townsend from engaging in any further deceptive email and Internet activities that violate Florida’s 2004 anti-spam law, the federal Can-Spam Act or Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, the Florida attorney general’s office said in a statement. Filary and Townsend must pay $50,000 to cover the costs of the state’s investigation, according to Crist. They are also subject to a potential $1.1 million penalty if the terms of the injunction are violated, the $50,000 is not paid, or it is found that the financial statements provided were inaccurate, the statement said.
The defendants were accused of running a bogus e-mail and Internet operation responsible for more than 65,000 illegal e-mails. The illegal messages linked recipients to more than 75 different Web sites engaged in fraudulent or illegal business activities, including pharmaceutical and cigarette sales and the illegal downloading of copyrighted movies, the statement said.
