Herbal King Ringleader Fined in Australia

Lance Thomas Atkinson, the mastermind behind the notorious Herbal King spam operation, has been fined by an Australian court for AU$210,000 (almost $185,000). The judge also banned him from sending unsolicited commercial email in the country for seven years.

The case against Atkinson was brought by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) in the Federal Court of Brisbane under the Spam Act 2003. According to its own account, ACMA acted in response to over 100,000 reports from Australians regarding junk email messages sent by the spammer.

"There is simply no doubt that Australian citizens find large-scale distribution of unsolicited commercial electronic messages promoting the sale of products, in the circumstances of this case, very irritating and annoying," noted Justice Greenwood, the judge presiding over the case, in his ruling. "Reports and complaints about spam from Australians are critical in the fight against spam. Without this information outcomes such as this could not be achieved," commented the ACMA Chairman, Chris Chapman.

Lance Thomas Atkinson was born in New Zealand and together with his brother and other accomplices, created a world-wide spam affiliate network known as Herbal King. During 2007 and 2008, the gang pushed massive amounts of junk emails advertising herbal products, replica watches and unregulated meds.

The whole enterprise involved shell companies set up in various countries around the world and used to launder millions of dollars. According to the Spamhaus project, at its peak, the Herbal King network was responsible for one third of the entire spam activity in the world.

In October 2008, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) froze the gang's assets in the United States and launched legal action against Lance Atkinson and his local co-conspirator, Jody Michael Smith, who has since pleaded guilty. At the end of last month, the FTC announced that Lance Atkinson was fined over $15 million in a default judgment.

In December 2008, the spammer received a NZ$100,000 (US $57,000) fine in his home country. His brother, Shane Atkinson and Roland Smits, another accomplice, were also fined for NZ$100,000 and NZ$50,000, respectively.