Three charged, one pleads guilty in first case on obscene spam

AFP, August, 2005

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Three people were indicted and a fourth pleaded guilty to criminal charges in the first case related to the transmission of obscene spam e-mails under a 2003 US anti-spam law, officials said.

The US Justice Department said late Thursday the charges target an operation that sent out tens of millions of unsolicited e-mails with sexually explicit embedded images and links to pornographic websites.

The nine-count indictment returned in Phoenix, Arizona, names Jennifer Clason, 32; Jeffrey Kilbride, 39; and James Schaffer, 39. They were charged with fraud and related activity under the federal CAN-SPAM Act and criminal conspiracy.

The indictment also charges Kilbride and Schaffer with interstate transportation of obscene material and money...