Facebook “Spam King” Sentenced to 2.5 Years in Jail for Sending More Than 27 Million Facebook Messages

Hacker Sanford Wallace, who goes by the well-earned alias “Spam King,” has been sentenced to jail for 2.5 years and was ordered to pay $310,000 in fines for sending more than 27 million Facebook spam messages. According to ComputerWorld, Wallace could have faced up to 16 years in prison, but he will instead serve five years of supervised release following his sentence.

The Spam King originally faced 11 charges that ranged from fraud to damage to a protected computer, but the sentence was lessened after he pled guilty to electronic mail fraud and criminal contempt of court, reports RT.

From November 2008 to March 2009, Wallace hacked half a million Facebook accounts and sent users links to websites that took their emails and passwords. He also sent links through Facebook messages and posts on their accounts to affiliate websites that paid him for the traffic.

Previously, Facebook sued him in March 2009, leading to a court order not to access Facebook. Myspace also filed a lawsuit against him in 2007, causing him to be fined more than $1 billion from both companies. Even before social media, Wallace sent junk faxes in 1991 that promoted his company, Cyber Promotions.

The Spam King’s sentence is set to begin on Sept. 7.