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May 18, 2005
Another drug spammer raided
Christopher William Smith, a longtime spam king based in Minnesota, has been busted by the U.S. government.
Federal agents raided the suburban-Minneapolis offices of one of Smith's companies, Online Payment Systems, on May 10. The Burnsville office had nearly 100 computers and an equal number of employees. It apparently was the administrative headquarters of Smith's online pharmacy, Xpress Pharmacy Direct, formerly located at xpress-rx.com.
An affidavit by a special agent with the Food and Drug Administration said agents left with "thousands of business records."
The agent described the case as a "multi-agency investigation involving a large-scale Internet-based operation that has been defrauding consumers and distributing prescription drugs, including controlled substances, without appropriate prescriptions in violation of a host of criminal statutes."
It's not clear whether Smith, who's 32, was in at the time of the raid. According to court records, he hasn't yet returned the summons and complaint.
The bust didn't get much media attention, aside from this item. But make no mistake; this is potentially another major spammer smackdown. Smith has been on the Spamhaus Rokso list for years, and xpress-rx.com was practically synonymous with illegal Vicodin sales.
The case has several other defendants, including Alton Scott Poe, Advanced Financial Svcs Inc., Ultimate Limousine, Same Day Pay Day, Vigrex DS LLC, Rizler, Advistech. Also named is Smith's father, Scott, and his company, Diaper Deck
Last month, the feds busted up another major online pharmacy operating out of India. I wouldn't want to be in the Rx spam business right about now.
Posted by brian at May 18, 2005 10:56 PM
Comments
Finally I have some answers as to why I didn't get the order! They owe me a refund!! Any suggestions--or am I SOL?
Posted by: Michelle at May 29, 2005 9:54 PM
It looks like this guy was responsible to more than 25% of the spam I received. At least, since that day the amount of spam I received was reduced by that amount...
Posted by: booboo at May 30, 2005 12:43 AM
Michelle, last I heard the court had appointed Minneapolis lawyer Andrew M. Luger to serve as a "receiver" and handle issues like dealing with outstanding orders, paying employees, closing down operations, etc. Luger is with Greene Espel, and his contact details are at http://www.greeneespel.com/bio_luger.asp.
Posted by: Brian at May 30, 2005 10:23 AM
Since this raid is a rarity, we have to protect ourselves. The above URL points to a tool that is in the footsteps of Make Love Not Spam.
Posted by: William Keeley at June 21, 2005 4:40 PM
i hate these spammers they all can go to hell
Posted by: at July 2, 2005 5:50 PM
