14 DAY TRIAL // David S. Patton, 49, of Centreville, VA, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting violations of the CAN-SPAM Act by providing notorious spammer Alan Ralsky with tools for sending bulk emails. The software developer faces six years in prison and a fine of $3,000.
Between January 2004 and September 2005, Patton advertised and distributed custom software through a company called Lightspeed Marketing. Amongst the applications that he developed and sold were "Nexus" and "Proxy Scanner," two programs designed to trick spam filters.
"Nexus" allowed customizing email headers providing users with the ability to insert fake information. Meanwhile, "Proxy Scanner" enabled them to send unsolicited e-mails through open proxy servers, in order to hide their true origin.
Patton admitted to selling both of the aforementioned tools to Alan Ralsky and his gang, being aware that they would be used for illicit activities. Furthermore, the developer provided technical support and updates for these applications.
Back in 2005, Alan Ralsky was number one on "The 10 Worst Spammers" list maintained by the Spamhaus project. His spam operation aimed at artificially inflating the stock value of several small Chinese companies and then quickly selling shares for profit.
This pump-and-dump stock scheme is estimated to have earned Ralsky and his cohorts around $3m in 18 months. 12 individuals have been charged in connection with the operation so far, and Patton is the ninth to plead guilty. The 49-year-old software developer will also have to forfeit $50,100 that he earned from selling the illegal software.
Four of the defendants, including Alan Ralsky, 64, and his son-in-law, Scott K. Bradley, 47, entered plea agreements on June 22 this year. Judy M. Devenow, 56, was the first to plead guilty back in October 2008, and agreed to testify against her former partners in crime. The investigation lasted three years and was led by the FBI.