End of the road for 'email marketer'?

The man accused of being one of the world's biggest spammers has had his operations shut down following a raid by the FBI. According to documents that have just been released, Alan M. Ralsky's 8,000 square foot Detroit-based home was raided in September by authorities who seized computers, laptops, disks and financial records. Sixty-year-old Ralsky's £425,000 property is said to have been funded by the profits from the 100 million emails that he is believed to send every day. The home of Ralsky's son-in-law, Scott Bradley, was also raided. Ralsky claims that he is not a spammer, but a legitimate email marketer who abides by the law. Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for security company Sophos, said Ralsky is notorious in the spam world, and has had a series of run-ins with the authorities over the years. "Politicians who have sponsored anti-spam bills have singled him out as one of the worst offenders when it comes to junk email," Cluley said. "Many will be watching closely to see if this is the beginning of the final chapter of the Ralsky story, or whether he will emerge unscathed and continue sending bulk email."