Suffolk Superior Court Judge Ralph D. Gants also granted AG Reilly’s request for an emergency court order that effectively shuts down multiple websites linked to Kuvayev and the other defendants as well as two Internet companies. Kuvayev, the ring-leader, lists a Newton address as his residence, and he and his associates use a Boston post office box address for their business operations.

“The numbers are staggering,” AG Reilly said. “Leo Kuvayev and the other members of his so-called ‘Internet Spam Gang’ are unleashing millions of unsolicited messages on consumers every day.”

AG Reilly added, “This type of spam is more than just an annoyance to consumers. It poses a real danger to people who may be fooled into buying counterfeit versions of prescription drugs or unwittingly open email links to sexually explicit websites.”

The defendants named in the suit include Kuvayev, Vladislav Khokholkov, Anna Orlova, Pavel Tkachuk, Michelle Marco, Dennis Nartikoev, Pavel Yashin and two companies: 2K Services, Ltd., and Ecash Pay, Ltd. All of these individuals, according to the complaint, have worked in some capacity for either 2K Services or Ecash Pay, which are unincorporated and list the same Massachusetts post office box address as their place of business.

According to AG Reilly’s complaint, Kuvayev’s scheme involves a complicated web of Internet sites and domain names selling a variety of illegal products including counterfeit drugs, pirated software, pornography, mortgage loans and phony designer watches. While the exact number of emails the defendants have sent out is unknown, they are likely responsible for disseminating hundreds of millions of unsolicited messages to consumers and businesses in Massachusetts and across the United States. Through the use of trap email accounts, set up for the express purpose of determining the names and identity of spammers, Microsoft officials collected more than 45,000 spam messages believed to be from the Internet Spam Gang between June 12 and July 4, 2004.

AG Reilly’s investigation, coupled with information provided by the Microsoft Corporation, found that Kuvayev and the defendants regularly and rapidly shifted domain names and websites to different Internet addresses. By following the domain names through several of these shifts, uncovering more domain names linked to identical websites, and obtaining registration information from website hosting companies, investigators were able to determine the identity of Kuvayev and others and link them to websites selling counterfeit prescription drugs, pirated software, mortgage loan offers, counterfeit Rolex watches, and pornography.

The Internet Spam Gang’s operations have been tracked to Russia and other countries overseas, with domain names registered in Monaco, Australia and France, and computer servers located in China, Korea, Brazil and Taiwan. Investigators used a variety of tools to track down the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and web hosting companies the spammers use to post and maintain many of their websites.

Kuvayev and his associates, according to AG Reilly’s complaint, are able to send millions of unsolicited emails by recruiting “affiliates” who also generate and transmit emails that link consumers to Kuvayev’s websites. Kuvayev is able to track website hits attributed to emails generated by these affiliates, and the complaint alleges, compensate the affiliates based on the email and website traffic they generate.

“I want to commend Microsoft for their proactive investigation into this spam ring. This case shows the effectiveness of public and private partners working together to protect consumers,” AG Reilly said.

The CAN-SPAM Act (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act), is a federal law that went into effect in January 2004. The law does not ban spam, but does require that unsolicited commercial email be accurate and honest, and that consumers be able to stop receiving the same spam over and over. The law requires that unsolicited commercial email messages be conspicuously identified as advertisements or solicitations, that the “header” information on the email -- including information on who the email is from and the subject of the email -- be accurate, that the email provide a valid postal address, and that the email provide a functional return email address so that recipients can request that they not receive future messages from the sender -- commonly referred to as an “opt out” function. The law also requires the sender place warning labels on emails that contain sexually oriented material.

AG Reilly alleges that E-mails believed to be linked to Kuvayev and his associates do not comply with the consumer protections offered under the CAN-SPAM Act. The complaint says that many of the emails contain misleading, false and deceptive information. For example, electronic messages containing pornographic material were unlabeled, and sent under the subject headings “Maynard” and “Ryan.” “Because these spammers send millions of their sexually explicit emails to people indiscriminately, it is likely that anyone with an email account, including children, receives them,” AG Reilly said. “The harm to children exposed to this graphic sexual content and language is obvious.”

More than a year after the implementation of the CAN-SPAM Act, opinion remains divided on the effectiveness of the legislation. Under the terms of the anti-spam law, spammers can face custodial sentences of up to five years, and fines ranging between $250 per unsolicited e-mail sent, up to $6 million in severe cases. However, critics of the Act have suggested that by requiring the recipients of spam e-mails to opt out of receiving them, rather than obliging firms to receive permission before sending bulk mailouts, and by overriding some tougher laws put in place by state authorities, the federal legislation has actually made things easier for spammers.

Laura Atkins, president of the SpamCon Foundation condemns the fact that CAN-SPAM does not allow individuals to take legal action against spammers, observing that: "CAN-SPAM has not made it any easier to find spammers. It has not decreased the amount of spam." However, ISPs used CAN-SPAM to file hundreds of civil lawsuits against spammers in 2004, Jennifer O'Shea, spokeswoman for Senator Conrad Burns (R-Montana), the main sponsor of CAN-SPAM explained. "Senator Burns has said from day one that enforcement is key for this legislation to be effective," she argued, continuing: "We have seen several big lawsuits, which have been helpful, but we need to continue to see more of these lawsuits in order to keep up with big time spammers and keep spam out of inboxes."