Ralsky was one of the most prolific sources of junk e-mail worldwide. Unlike most spammers, he has provided interviews to various newspapers, although he claimed to be a commercial e-mailer rather than a spammer. He claimed that his was a legitimate business that complied with all laws,[1] but was convicted of spamming and other fraudulent activities in June 2009.
Ralsky apparently began his spamming career in 1996, when his licenses to sell insurance were revoked in Michigan and Illinois.[1]
He gained much of his notoriety following a December 2002 interview with The Detroit News. The article was posted to Slashdot and the address of his newly built home was posted to Slashdot not long after that.[2] Hundreds of Slashdot readers then searched the Internet for advertising mailing lists and free catalogs and signed him up for them. As a result, he was flooded with junk mail.[3] In a Detroit Free Press article on December 6, 2002, he is quoted as saying, "They've signed me up for every advertising campaign and mailing list there is. These people are out of their minds. They're harassing me."[4]
Legal timeline
In 1992 he served a fifty-day sentence for selling unregistered securities.[5]
On August 7, 1995, he pleaded guilty to federal bank fraud in Ohio.[6] He served three years probation for a felony charge of falsifying banking records.[7]
In early October, 2005, a warrant was unsealed, showing the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) raided Alan Ralsky's home in September. In the raid, the FBI took computers, financial records, and even the Detroit News article cited above. They then raided his son-in-law's home. Ralsky's business was not legally shut down, but he was unable to operate following the raid.[9]
On January 3, 2008, Ralsky and ten others were indicted based on the results of a three-year investigation.[10] The indictment included stock fraud charges stemming from a "pump and dump" scheme.
On January 9, 2008, Ralsky was arraigned on the charges that he was indicted for on January 3, 2008. He was silent during the arraignment, so a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf.[11]
On November 23, 2009, he was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Marianne Battani to four years, three months in jail. He was also fined $250,000.[14][15]
^"ROKSO - Register of Known Spam Operations - The Spamhaus Project". Spamhaus.org. Retrieved 2013-03-02.
^"FBI raid shuts down suspected spammer". USA Today. 2005-10-16. Retrieved 2010-04-23.
^"Alan Ralsky, Ten Others, Indicted In International Illegal Spamming And Stock Fraud Scheme". U.S. Department of Justice. 2008-01-03. Retrieved 2008-01-04.
^. Bop.gov. 2012-09-14. Archived from the original on 2012-09-25. Retrieved 2013-03-02.
^"ROKSO Register of Known Spam Operations - Peter Severa / Peter Levashov". Spamhaus.org. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
External links
FBI raid on Alan Ralsky's home in September 2005[dead link]
Spamhaus ROKSO record for Alan Ralsky
January 06, 2023
alan, ralsky, 1945, 2021, convicted, american, fraudster, best, known, activities, spammer, contents, spamming, legal, timeline, also, references, external, linksspamming, editralsky, most, prolific, sources, junk, mail, worldwide, unlike, most, spammers, prov. Alan Ralsky c 1945 2021 was a convicted American fraudster best known for his activities as a spammer Contents 1 Spamming 2 Legal timeline 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksSpamming EditRalsky was one of the most prolific sources of junk e mail worldwide Unlike most spammers he has provided interviews to various newspapers although he claimed to be a commercial e mailer rather than a spammer He claimed that his was a legitimate business that complied with all laws 1 but was convicted of spamming and other fraudulent activities in June 2009 Ralsky apparently began his spamming career in 1996 when his licenses to sell insurance were revoked in Michigan and Illinois 1 He gained much of his notoriety following a December 2002 interview with The Detroit News The article was posted to Slashdot and the address of his newly built home was posted to Slashdot not long after that 2 Hundreds of Slashdot readers then searched the Internet for advertising mailing lists and free catalogs and signed him up for them As a result he was flooded with junk mail 3 In a Detroit Free Press article on December 6 2002 he is quoted as saying They ve signed me up for every advertising campaign and mailing list there is These people are out of their minds They re harassing me 4 Legal timeline EditIn 1992 he served a fifty day sentence for selling unregistered securities 5 On August 7 1995 he pleaded guilty to federal bank fraud in Ohio 6 He served three years probation for a felony charge of falsifying banking records 7 On March 14 1999 he pleaded guilty to misprision of felony in Michigan 8 In early October 2005 a warrant was unsealed showing the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI raided Alan Ralsky s home in September In the raid the FBI took computers financial records and even the Detroit News article cited above They then raided his son in law s home Ralsky s business was not legally shut down but he was unable to operate following the raid 9 On January 3 2008 Ralsky and ten others were indicted based on the results of a three year investigation 10 The indictment included stock fraud charges stemming from a pump and dump scheme On January 9 2008 Ralsky was arraigned on the charges that he was indicted for on January 3 2008 He was silent during the arraignment so a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf 11 On June 22 2009 he pleaded guilty to wire fraud mail fraud money laundering charges and violating the CAN SPAM Act 12 He agreed to assist in the prosecution of other spammers in exchange for sentencing consideration 13 On November 23 2009 he was sentenced by U S District Judge Marianne Battani to four years three months in jail He was also fined 250 000 14 15 Alan Ralsky was inmate No 19509 039 at the Federal Correctional Institution Morgantown 16 He was released on 14 September 2012 17 See also EditList of spammers Peter Levashov a partner of Ralsky according to The Spamhaus Project 18 References Edit a b Joel Kurth 2002 08 04 Junk e mail foes target spam king Detroit News Archived from the original on 2014 01 24 Retrieved 2014 05 29 Another Millionaire Spammer Story Slashdot Slashdot org Retrieved 2013 03 02 HOWTO Annoy a Spammer Slashdot Archived from the original on 2014 03 02 Retrieved 2013 03 02 Spammer Gets Junkmailed TechSpot 2002 11 12 Retrieved 2009 11 26 1 Archived February 2 2004 at the Wayback Machine ROKSO Register of Known Spam Operations The Spamhaus Project Spamhaus org Retrieved 2013 03 02 2 dead link ROKSO Register of Known Spam Operations The Spamhaus Project Spamhaus org Retrieved 2013 03 02 FBI raid shuts down suspected spammer USA Today 2005 10 16 Retrieved 2010 04 23 Alan Ralsky Ten Others Indicted In International Illegal Spamming And Stock Fraud Scheme U S Department of Justice 2008 01 03 Retrieved 2008 01 04 Ashenfelter David 2008 01 09 Man arraigned on charges he sent e mail to inflate stocks Detroit Free Press Detroit Michigan Gannett Company Retrieved 2008 01 16 Detroit Spammer and Four Co Conspirators Plead Guilty to Multi Million Dollar E Mail Stock Fraud Scheme Department of Justice 2009 06 22 Archived from the original on 2009 06 26 Retrieved 2009 06 25 Spam King pleads guilty in Detroit UPI 2009 06 23 Retrieved 2009 06 23 3 Archived November 27 2009 at the Wayback Machine 4 dead link Canned Spammer Spamhaus org Retrieved 2013 03 02 Federal Bureau of Prisons Bop gov 2012 09 14 Archived from the original on 2012 09 25 Retrieved 2013 03 02 ROKSO Register of Known Spam Operations Peter Severa Peter Levashov Spamhaus org Retrieved 3 February 2018 External links EditFBI raid on Alan Ralsky s home in September 2005 dead link Spamhaus ROKSO record for Alan Ralsky Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alan Ralsky amp oldid 1122618844, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
