Former AOL Employee Who Stole Entire E-Mail List Sentenced To Year And Three Months In Prison - 08/18/05

Former AOL Employee Who Stole Entire E-Mail List Sentenced To Year And Three Months In Prison - 08/18/05

NEW YORK — A 25-year-old former America Online employee who admitted he became a cyberspace “outlaw” when he sold all 92 million screen names and e-mail addresses to spammers was sentenced Wednesday to a year and three months in prison.

The defendant speaks,

“I know I’ve done something very wrong,” the soft-spoken and teary eyed Jason Smathers told U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein as he apologized for a theft that resulted in spammers sending out up to 7 billion unsolicited e-mails.

True to the mantra of a popular cable news network consisting of “fair and balanced” coverage, the prosecutor speaks,

“The Internet is not lawless” was the lesson of the case, said Assistant U.S. Attorney David Siegal.

“The public at large has an interest in making sure people respect the same values that apply in everyday life, on the Internet,” Siegal said.

The stolen list of 92 million AOL addresses included multiple addresses used by each of AOL’s estimated 30 million customers. It is believed to be still circulating among spammers.

The judge refused a Probation Department recommendation that Smathers be banned from his profession as a software engineer, saying he trusted Smathers had learned his lesson.

19 August, 2005 |

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