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'Weaselboy' spam-scammer jailed for six years
By Simon Freeman
A spam-scammer who constructed a £1.6 million internet empire from the bedroom of his father's Victorian cottage was today jailed for six years for fraud and other crimes.
Peter Francis-Macrae, 23 and known by the online nickname "weaselboy", was exposed as one of Britain's most prolific scammers by The Times in February last year. At his peak he was thought to be earning more than £100,000 a week selling non-existent '.eu' internet domain names and e-mail addresses from his house in St Neots, Cambridgeshire.
Companies who realised they had been duped and complained were bombed with millions of emails. Police and trading standards officers who investigated were told their headquarters would be petrol-bombed.
When Nominet, the internet watchdog, posted warnings about weaselboy's activities, he responded by threatening to paralyse all of Britain's e-mail and web traffic.
And upon his arrest, he told a police officer: "Why donât you slit your throat and make us all happy?"
Francis-Macrae was today found guilty of fraudulent trading, concealing criminal property, threatening to destroy or damage property, making threats to kill, and blackmail. He has refused to tell investigators where he has secreted more than £1.1 million.
Wearing a beige tracksuit top, brown T-shirt and jeans, he showed no reaction as he was jailed at Peterborough Crown Court, answering only "yes" when asked if he understood the sentences imposed.
Judge Nicholas Coleman said: "You deceived hundreds of people of countless thousands of pounds of their money. When investigated, following the countless complaints of your misdeeds, you resorted to threats to kill and a threat to set fire to property, and ultimately blackmail.
"Whoever stood in the way of your criminality became subject to abuse and threats. You are, I think, one of the most vindictive young men I have ever seen."
The jury has heard how Francis-Macrae was a gifted computer enthusiast who began swapping games equipment on the internet as a teenager and progressed to become a sophisticated young entrepreneur.
He set up his first company as an 18-year-old computer student at Cambridge Regional College but quickly began to abuse his talents to generate a vast income. He spent thousands of pounds on designer clothes and helicopter lessons.
He sent unsolicited e-mails to thousands of people offering to sell them registered names for emails and websites. He charged customers to pre-register .eu domain names before they were released by the regulatory body.
Giving evidence, Francis-Macrae described suggestions that he had no intention of registering the names as "total garbage" and insisted that he still intended to complete the registration.
During the three-week trial, the jury heard tape recordings of what the prosecution said were his menacing phone calls.
He told one police switchboard operator that he hoped she died of cancer and claimed he would burn down Cambridgeshireâs trading standards department.
Rupert Mayo, prosecuting, told the court: "He resorted to using violent verbal abuse and deadly threats to quite innocent people when challenged about his fraudulent activity."
Anthony Davies QC, defending, told the court earlier that Francis-Macrae was a "loner" who had little or no business experience and was overwhelmed by the pressure of the police investigation.
"It is unfortunate that this young man did not have friends of his own age or a little older to whom he could turn," he said.
Francis-Macrae's activities as Britain's most prolific spammer were uncovered by The Times in February last year, when he became the focus of an internet hate campaign.
Francis-Macrae was jailed for three years for two counts of fraudulent trading. He was jailed for a further year for threatening to destroy property and making threats to kill. Another two years was added for the blackmail charge.
He was given a two-year sentence, to run concurrently alongside the others, for one count of concealing criminal property.
After the hearing, Detective Constable Jody Faro said police had dealt with more than 2,000 complaints about Francis-Macraeâs business dealings from around the globe.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1875074_2,00.html
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By Simon Freeman
A spam-scammer who constructed a £1.6 million internet empire from the bedroom of his father's Victorian cottage was today jailed for six years for fraud and other crimes.
Peter Francis-Macrae, 23 and known by the online nickname "weaselboy", was exposed as one of Britain's most prolific scammers by The Times in February last year. At his peak he was thought to be earning more than £100,000 a week selling non-existent '.eu' internet domain names and e-mail addresses from his house in St Neots, Cambridgeshire.
Companies who realised they had been duped and complained were bombed with millions of emails. Police and trading standards officers who investigated were told their headquarters would be petrol-bombed.
When Nominet, the internet watchdog, posted warnings about weaselboy's activities, he responded by threatening to paralyse all of Britain's e-mail and web traffic.
And upon his arrest, he told a police officer: "Why donât you slit your throat and make us all happy?"
Francis-Macrae was today found guilty of fraudulent trading, concealing criminal property, threatening to destroy or damage property, making threats to kill, and blackmail. He has refused to tell investigators where he has secreted more than £1.1 million.
Wearing a beige tracksuit top, brown T-shirt and jeans, he showed no reaction as he was jailed at Peterborough Crown Court, answering only "yes" when asked if he understood the sentences imposed.
Judge Nicholas Coleman said: "You deceived hundreds of people of countless thousands of pounds of their money. When investigated, following the countless complaints of your misdeeds, you resorted to threats to kill and a threat to set fire to property, and ultimately blackmail.
"Whoever stood in the way of your criminality became subject to abuse and threats. You are, I think, one of the most vindictive young men I have ever seen."
The jury has heard how Francis-Macrae was a gifted computer enthusiast who began swapping games equipment on the internet as a teenager and progressed to become a sophisticated young entrepreneur.
He set up his first company as an 18-year-old computer student at Cambridge Regional College but quickly began to abuse his talents to generate a vast income. He spent thousands of pounds on designer clothes and helicopter lessons.
He sent unsolicited e-mails to thousands of people offering to sell them registered names for emails and websites. He charged customers to pre-register .eu domain names before they were released by the regulatory body.
Giving evidence, Francis-Macrae described suggestions that he had no intention of registering the names as "total garbage" and insisted that he still intended to complete the registration.
During the three-week trial, the jury heard tape recordings of what the prosecution said were his menacing phone calls.
He told one police switchboard operator that he hoped she died of cancer and claimed he would burn down Cambridgeshireâs trading standards department.
Rupert Mayo, prosecuting, told the court: "He resorted to using violent verbal abuse and deadly threats to quite innocent people when challenged about his fraudulent activity."
Anthony Davies QC, defending, told the court earlier that Francis-Macrae was a "loner" who had little or no business experience and was overwhelmed by the pressure of the police investigation.
"It is unfortunate that this young man did not have friends of his own age or a little older to whom he could turn," he said.
Francis-Macrae's activities as Britain's most prolific spammer were uncovered by The Times in February last year, when he became the focus of an internet hate campaign.
Francis-Macrae was jailed for three years for two counts of fraudulent trading. He was jailed for a further year for threatening to destroy property and making threats to kill. Another two years was added for the blackmail charge.
He was given a two-year sentence, to run concurrently alongside the others, for one count of concealing criminal property.
After the hearing, Detective Constable Jody Faro said police had dealt with more than 2,000 complaints about Francis-Macraeâs business dealings from around the globe.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1875074_2,00.html
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