Peter Francis-Macrae
Encyclopedia
Peter "Weaselboy" Francis-Macrae (born 1982) is an English spammer found guilty of two counts of fraudulent trading
, one of concealing criminal property, two of making threats to kill, one charge of threatening to destroy or damage property and one count of blackmail
. He was running his own internet business from his father's home in St Neots
, Cambridgeshire
, most recent accounts filed at Companies House
showed his business had a turnover
of £49,000.
Macrae had been operating various Internet based businesses since 1998, starting with an offer made on several USENET
groups for an automatic e-mail sending program (Macrae has since denied being the poster of the messages). Among the businesses he founded were the Internet Service Provider
s True Hosting, Expert Hosting and Dot Com Avenue. These businesses promised unrealistic up-times, when in fact they were frequently unavailable. When working with customers, Macrae used a number of aliases, most notably 'David Jarvis', and would claim to be persons from various departments of the companies; in actual fact, however, Macrae's businesses were operated solely by Macrae himself.
It was during his time running True Hosting that he earned the sobriquet 'Weaselboy' from an irate customer, whom Macrae had continued billing for web hosting after she had tried repeatedly to cancel services.
Under the business name EU Registry Services, Macrae had offered thousands of e-mail and website names in the .eu Top Level Domain when he had no right to do so. When Nominet warned him about his activities, he threatened to attack their servers.http://www.nominet.org.uk/disputes/courtcases/macrae/ He was accused of his activities in 2004, and on November 16, 2005 it was announced in the press
that Macrae had been sentenced to jail for six years.
In February 2006 he was found guilty of threatening to kill police officers and blow up the Cambridgeshire force's headquarters in a letter to his solicitor from his prison cell. Judge Nicholas Coleman said: "I am deeply concerned about what this man claims he is going to do on his release."
He ordered Francis-Macrae undergo psychiatric reports before sentencing.
In June 2006 he was given an additional 12 months sentence for making threats against the police,
and made subject to an ASBO
.
In October 2006, Peterborough
Crown Court
was told that the Crown Prosecution Service
is attempting to seek out and confiscate more than £
1 million. Francis-Macrae disrupted the hearing by screaming “I’m innocent”, “this is a sham,” and “al-Qaeda”, repeatedly as loud as he could. http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=845&ArticleID=1823248
In February 2008 he was ordered to pay back £562,000 or face an additional 3 years in jail. Police had traced a Harrods
Safe deposit box
belonging to him, but all it contained were bricks, a mocking handwritten note with a smiley
face and ten pounds.
http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/Net-fraudster-must-pay-back.3809192.jp
While Macrae has been accused of several other illegal or illegitimate practices, including spamming
and sending false letters under other ISPs' names to clients of said companies claiming that services were to be transferred to another company (owned by Macrae), the full extent of his actions are not known to the authorities.
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
, one of concealing criminal property, two of making threats to kill, one charge of threatening to destroy or damage property and one count of blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
. He was running his own internet business from his father's home in St Neots
St Neots
St Neots is a town and civil parish with a population of 26,356 people. It lies on the River Great Ouse in Huntingdonshire District, approximately north of central London, and is the largest town in Cambridgeshire . The town is named after the Cornish monk St...
, Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, most recent accounts filed at Companies House
Companies House
Companies House is the United Kingdom Registrar of Companies and is an Executive Agency of the United Kingdom Government Department for Business, Innovation and Skills . All forms of companies are incorporated and registered with Companies House and file specific details as required by the...
showed his business had a turnover
Revenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....
of £49,000.
Macrae had been operating various Internet based businesses since 1998, starting with an offer made on several USENET
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
groups for an automatic e-mail sending program (Macrae has since denied being the poster of the messages). Among the businesses he founded were the Internet Service Provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
s True Hosting, Expert Hosting and Dot Com Avenue. These businesses promised unrealistic up-times, when in fact they were frequently unavailable. When working with customers, Macrae used a number of aliases, most notably 'David Jarvis', and would claim to be persons from various departments of the companies; in actual fact, however, Macrae's businesses were operated solely by Macrae himself.
It was during his time running True Hosting that he earned the sobriquet 'Weaselboy' from an irate customer, whom Macrae had continued billing for web hosting after she had tried repeatedly to cancel services.
Under the business name EU Registry Services, Macrae had offered thousands of e-mail and website names in the .eu Top Level Domain when he had no right to do so. When Nominet warned him about his activities, he threatened to attack their servers.http://www.nominet.org.uk/disputes/courtcases/macrae/ He was accused of his activities in 2004, and on November 16, 2005 it was announced in the press
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
that Macrae had been sentenced to jail for six years.
In February 2006 he was found guilty of threatening to kill police officers and blow up the Cambridgeshire force's headquarters in a letter to his solicitor from his prison cell. Judge Nicholas Coleman said: "I am deeply concerned about what this man claims he is going to do on his release."
He ordered Francis-Macrae undergo psychiatric reports before sentencing.
In June 2006 he was given an additional 12 months sentence for making threats against the police,
and made subject to an ASBO
Åsbo
Åsbo can refer to:*Åsbo Northern Hundred, a hundred in Scania*Åsbo Southern Hundred, a hundred in Scania...
.
In October 2006, Peterborough
Peterborough
Peterborough is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in the East of England, with an estimated population of in June 2007. For ceremonial purposes it is in the county of Cambridgeshire. Situated north of London, the city stands on the River Nene which flows into the North Sea...
Crown Court
Crown Court
The Crown Court of England and Wales is, together with the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, one of the constituent parts of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
was told that the Crown Prosecution Service
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in England and Wales. Its role is similar to that of the longer-established Crown Office in Scotland, and the...
is attempting to seek out and confiscate more than £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
1 million. Francis-Macrae disrupted the hearing by screaming “I’m innocent”, “this is a sham,” and “al-Qaeda”, repeatedly as loud as he could. http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=845&ArticleID=1823248
In February 2008 he was ordered to pay back £562,000 or face an additional 3 years in jail. Police had traced a Harrods
Harrods
Harrods is an upmarket department store located in Brompton Road in Brompton, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. The Harrods brand also applies to other enterprises undertaken by the Harrods group of companies including Harrods Bank, Harrods Estates, Harrods Aviation and Air...
Safe deposit box
Safe deposit box
A safe deposit box or wrongly referred to as a safety deposit box is an individually-secured container, usually held within a larger safe or bank vault. Safe deposit boxes are generally located in banks, post offices or other institutions...
belonging to him, but all it contained were bricks, a mocking handwritten note with a smiley
Smiley
A smiley, smiley face, or happy face, is a stylized representation of a smiling human face, commonly occurring in popular culture. It is commonly represented as a yellow circle with two black dots representing eyes and a black arc representing the mouth...
face and ten pounds.
http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/news/Net-fraudster-must-pay-back.3809192.jp
While Macrae has been accused of several other illegal or illegitimate practices, including spamming
Spam
Spam may refer to:* Spam , a canned pork meat product* Spam , unsolicited or undesired electronic messages* E-mail spam, unsolicited or undesired email messages* "Spam" , a comedy sketch...
and sending false letters under other ISPs' names to clients of said companies claiming that services were to be transferred to another company (owned by Macrae), the full extent of his actions are not known to the authorities.