http://money.cnn.com/2004/06/23/technology/aol_spam/?cnn=yes

AOL
worker arrested in spam scheme

Jason Smathers is charged with stealing his employer's
subscriber list and selling it.

June 23, 2004: 5:37 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - A software
engineer at America Online was arrested Wednesday and charged with stealing
AOL's subscriber list and selling it to someone sending spam e-mail, federal
prosecutors in New York said.

According to the criminal complaint, Jason
Smathers of Harpers Ferry, W. Va., used his inside knowledge of AOL's computer
system to steal a list of 92 million AOL customer account "screen
names," and then sold them to Sean Dunaway, who is not an AOL employee.

Dunaway, of Las Vegas, NV., was accused of
using the list to promote his own Internet gambling business and also sold the
list to other spammers for $52,000, according to David Kelley, the U.S.
attorney for the Southern District of New York.

The complaint further charges that Dunaway
later paid Smathers $100,000 for an updated version of AOL's customer list.

Megan Gaffney, a spokeswoman with the U.S.
Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York, confirmed that both men
appeared in court Wednesday.

Dunaway, 21, attended federal court in Las
Vegas, and Smathers, 24, made his initial federal court appearance in Virginia.
Smathers will be detained overnight until a detention hearing tomorrow, Gaffney
said.

Defense lawyers could not be reached for
comment.

The two men each face a maximum sentence of
five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, according to prosecutors.

An AOL spokesman said Smathers has been
fired from the company.

"We deeply regret what has taken place
and are thoroughly reviewing and strengthening our internal procedures as a result
of this investigation and arrest," AOL said in a statement.

According to the complaint, Smathers used
another employee's ID in April and May 2003 to assemble a complete list of
AOL's customer account screen names, zip codes, telephone numbers and credit
card types.

"(But) AOL has uncovered no information
indicating that this theft involved member credit card or password information
stored by AOL," said the statement from AOL.

AOL, the world's biggest Internet service
provider, is owned by Time Warner Inc., as is CNN/Money.