PAC: NZ spammer receives hefty fine
22 Dec 2008 2:32 PM
A Queensland-based New Zealander will be almost 93 thousand dollars out of pocket after admitting his part in an international spam email operation.
LANCE ATKINSON .. who lives in Pelican Waters on the Sunshine Coast .. was sentenced to pay more than 84 thousand dollars plus costs in the High Court at Christchurch after admitting charges under the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act.
ATKINSON was part of a network which sent more than two million unsolicited emails to New Zealand computers between September 5 and December 31 last year.
The emails promoted Herbal King .. Elite Herbal and Express Herbal-branded pharmaceutical products .. manufactured and shipped by Tulip Lab of India.
Justice CHRISTINE FRENCH says the spamming operation is believed to be one of the largest in the history of the internet and its impact on New Zealand was therefore proportionately large.
ATKINSON still faces court action in the United States brought by the Federal Trade Commission.
