This 'Spam King' Has Likely Sent You a Message

You may not be familiar with the name Sanford Wallace, but there's a decent chance he's sent you a message a time or two. The 47-year-old self-anointed "Spam King" has pleaded guilty to accessing Facebook servers and sending out more than 27 million messages to users, reports Bloomberg. The fraud and criminal contempt charges could get him up to three years in prison when he's sentenced, along with a fine of $250,000.

If Wallace didn't connect with you on Facebook, he may have done so via email, Myspace phishing, or even, in the days before the Internet, junk faxes, reports Engadget. Wallace has racked up more than $4 million in fines, notes the website, but he's dodged them thanks to bankruptcy. He could not, however, dodge the FBI criminal investigation that might now land him in jail. For more on his colorful, annoying history, see this previous feature in Ars Technica. (More spam stories.)