2 Convicted in Junk E-Mail Case

A brother and sister who sent unsolicited junk e-mail to millions of America Online Inc. customers were convicted Wednesday in the nation’s first felony prosecution of spam distributors.

Jurors convicted Jeremy D. Jaynes, 30, and Jessica DeGroot, 28, of three counts each of sending e-mails with fraudulent and untraceable routing information. Jaynes was sentenced to a nine-year prison term; DeGroot was fined $7,500.

A third defendant, Richard Rutkowski, was acquitted of similar charges.

Prosecutors compared Jaynes and DeGroot, both of the Raleigh, N.C., area, to modern-day snake-oil salesmen who used the Internet to peddle items like a “FedEx refund processor” that supposedly allowed people to earn $75 an hour while working from home.

In one month alone, Jaynes received 10,000 credit card orders for the $39.95 processor.

“This was just a case of fraud,” said state prosecutor Samuel E. Fishel IV.

Virginia prosecuted the case under a law that took effect last year that bars people from sending bulk e-mail that is unsolicited and masks its origin. Dulles, Va.-based AOL is a unit of New York-based Time Warner Inc.

Prosecutors asked the jury to impose a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison for Jaynes and to consider an unspecified prison term for his sister.

Defense lawyers asked jurors to spare the defendants prison terms.

David Oblon, representing Jaynes, argued that it was inappropriate for prosecutors to seek what he called an excessive punishment, given that this was the first prosecution under the Virginia law.

He also noted that his client, a North Carolina resident, would have been unaware of the Virginia law.

Loudoun County Circuit Judge Thomas Orne has not ruled on a motion seeking dismissal. He said during the trial that he had a hard time allowing the prosecution of DeGroot and Rutkowski to go forward to the jury.