Alan Ralsky
Encyclopedia
Alan Ralsky is a convicted American
fraudster, best known for his activities as a spammer
.
Ralsky apparently began his spamming career when his licenses to sell insurance were revoked in Michigan and Illinois in 1996.
He gained much of his notoriety following a December 2002 interview with The Detroit News
. The article was soon posted to Slashdot
and the address of his newly built home was posted to Slashdot not long after that. 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
. 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".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
fraudster, best known for his activities as a spammer
Spam (electronic)
Spam is the use of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately...
.
Spamming
According to experts in the field, Ralsky is 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 which complied with all laws, but was convicted of spamming and other fraudulent activities in June 2009.Ralsky apparently began his spamming career when his licenses to sell insurance were revoked in Michigan and Illinois in 1996.
He gained much of his notoriety following a December 2002 interview with The Detroit News
The Detroit News
The Detroit News is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival Free Press's building. The News absorbed the Detroit Tribune on February 1, 1919, the Detroit Journal on July 21, 1922, and on November 7, 1960,...
. The article was soon posted to Slashdot
Slashdot
Slashdot is a technology-related news website owned by Geeknet, Inc. The site, which bills itself as "News for Nerds. Stuff that Matters", features user-submitted and ‑evaluated current affairs news stories about science- and technology-related topics. Each story has a comments section...
and the address of his newly built home was posted to Slashdot not long after that. Hundreds of Slashdot readers then searched the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
for advertising mailing lists and free catalogs and signed him up for them. As a result, he was flooded with junk mail
Direct marketing
Direct marketing is a channel-agnostic form of advertising that allows businesses and nonprofits to communicate straight to the customer, with advertising techniques such as mobile messaging, email, interactive consumer websites, online display ads, fliers, catalog distribution, promotional...
. In a Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
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".
Legal
- In 1992 he served a fifty-day sentence for selling unregistered securitiesSecurity (finance)A security is generally a fungible, negotiable financial instrument representing financial value. Securities are broadly categorized into:* debt securities ,* equity securities, e.g., common stocks; and,...
. - On August 7, 1995, he pled guilty to federal bank fraudBank fraudBank fraud is the use of fraudulent means to obtain money, assets, or other property owned or held by a financial institution, or to obtain money from depositors by fraudulently representing to be a bank or financial institution. In many instances, bank fraud is a criminal offense...
in OhioOhioOhio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. He served three years probationProbationProbation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
for a felonyFelonyA felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...
charge of falsifying banking records. - On March 14, 1999, he pled guilty to misprision of felonyMisprision of felonyMisprision of felony was an offence under the common law of England and was classified as a misdemeanour. It consisted of failing to report knowledge of a felony to the appropriate authorities.Exceptions were made for close family members of the felon....
in MichiganMichiganMichigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. - In early October 2005, a warrantWarrant (law)Most often, the term warrant refers to a specific type of authorization; a writ issued by a competent officer, usually a judge or magistrate, which permits an otherwise illegal act that would violate individual rights and affords the person executing the writ protection from damages if the act is...
was unsealed, showing the Federal Bureau of InvestigationFederal Bureau of InvestigationThe Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
(FBI) raided Alan Ralsky's home in September. In the raid, the FBI took computers, financial records, and even The Detroit News article cited earlier. 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. - On January 3, 2008, Ralsky and ten others were indicted based on results of a three-year investigation. The indictment included stock fraud charges stemming from a "pump and dumpPump and dump"Pump and dump" is a form of microcap stock fraud that involves artificially inflating the price of an owned stock through false and misleading positive statements, in order to sell the cheaply purchased stock at a higher price....
" scheme. - On January 9, 2008, Ralsky was arraignedArraignmentArraignment is a formal reading of a criminal complaint in the presence of the defendant to inform the defendant of the charges against him or her. In response to arraignment, the accused is expected to enter a plea...
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. - On June 22, 2009, he pleaded guilty to wire fraudWire fraudMail and wire fraud is a federal crime in the United States. Together, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1343, and 1346 reach any fraudulent scheme or artifice to intentionally deprive another of property or honest services with a nexus to mail or wire communication....
, mail fraud, money launderingMoney launderingMoney laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
charges and violating the CAN-SPAM Act. He agreed to assist in the prosecution of other spammers in exchange for sentencingSentence (law)In law, a sentence forms the final explicit act of a judge-ruled process, and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function. The sentence can generally involve a decree of imprisonment, a fine and/or other punishments against a defendant convicted of a crime...
consideration. - On November 23, 2009, he was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Marianne O. BattaniMarianne O. BattaniMarianne O. Battani is a United States federal judge.Born in Detroit, Michigan, Battani received a B.A. from the University of Detroit in 1966 and a J.D. from Detroit College of Law in 1972. She was in private practice from 1972 to 1981. She was a judge on the Common Pleas Court of the City of...
to four years, three months in jail. He was also fined $250,000. - Alan Ralsky is now inmate # 19509-039 at Federal Correctional Institution, Morgantown.