Texas Aims to Snag Spammers
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Abstract
The attorney general of Texas has filed a civil lawsuit against two individuals believed to be responsible for millions of illegal e-mail solicitations. Ryan Samuel Pitylak, a student at the University of Texas, and Mark Stephen Trotter of California operate two companies, PayPerAction and Leadplex. Spamhaus.org, a watchdog group that monitors spam, has identified the two companies as being among the top five spam operations worldwide. Prosecutors allege that the e-mails sent by the two companies violate state and federal laws, including the CAN-SPAM Act, by including misleading subject lines and fraudulent information in the body of the messages. The defendants, who are also accused of violating Texas trade practices, face millions of dollars in fines, though no criminal charges were filed against them. An attorney for the defendants said his clients' businesses are in full compliance with all applicable laws, including the CAN-SPAM Act.