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FYI - As a reminder, please do not hijack the use of address blocks issued to other parties.<br>
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Thanks,<br>
<div dir="ltr">/John</div>
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<div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr">John Curran</div>
<div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr">President and CEO</div>
<div id="AppleMailSignature" dir="ltr">American Registry for Internet Numbers</div>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><b style="font-size: 11pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:20.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Spammers Plead Guilty, Company Forfeits $4.9 Million</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%;text-autospace:none"><b><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">NEWS RELEASE SUMMARYgg</span></u></b><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">
– June 10, 2022<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">SAN DIEGO – Three employees of the affiliate marketing platform Amobee pleaded guilty in federal court today to hijacking
Internet Protocol (IP) addresses to send unsolicited commercial email messages, commonly known as “spam.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The three employees, Jacob Bychak, Mark Manoogian, and Abdul Mohammed Qayyum, joined Daniel Dye and Vincent Tarney in pleading
guilty to violating the federal CAN-SPAM statute for their involvement in misusing the stolen IP addresses to send spam.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The defendants’ employer, formerly known as both Adconion Direct Inc. and Frontline Direct (hereafter, “Adconion”), previously
agreed to forfeit $4,939,526 as the fraudulent proceeds of a wire fraud conspiracy in which its employees hijacked more than 500,000 IP addresses to send over 10 billion commercial emails to people in the United States and elsewhere.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">IP addresses are the beginning and ending points for sending data via the internet. A discrete bundle of IP addresses in numeric
order is known as a range or block. In this case, the defendants pleaded guilty to using fraudulent Letters of Authorization (“LOAs”) to take control of large blocks of IP addresses registered to eleven different entities without the registrants’ knowledge
or consent. As part of the fraudulent scheme, the defendants used email accounts set up to impersonate the IP blocks’ true registrants. In particular, the defendants used and created email addresses with the true registrants’ domain name (e.g.,
<span>ect.net</span>) to impersonate real and fictitious employees. They then emailed the fraudulent LOAs, which were written on fake letterheads and included forged signatures, from these imposter email accounts to various Internet hosting companies to falsely
represent to the hosting companies that the true registrants authorized them to use the IP addresses.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">All the IP blocks hijacked by the defendants were IPv4 addresses. Demand for a finite number of IPv4 addresses available has
driven up their value over time. Between December 2010 and September 2014, when the defendants’ conduct occurred, a block of 65,534 IP addresses, referred to as a Class B block, was worth approximately $650,000. Today, it is worth as much as $3.3 million.
Internet Service Providers like Yahoo and Google routinely employ filters to block spam from reaching a recipient’s inbox. Once an IP address is associated with spam, the filters typically block messages sent from that IP address. Spammers need a constant
supply of fresh unblocked IP addresses to deliver the unwanted commercial email.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">The defendants’ jobs with Adconion were to acquire fresh IP addresses and employ other measures to circumvent the spam filters.
To conceal Adconion’s ties to the stolen IP addresses and the spam sent from these IP addresses, the defendants used a host of DBAs, virtual addresses, and fake names provided by the company. While defendants touted ties to well-known name brands, the email
marketing campaigns associated with the hijacked IP addresses included advertisements such as “BigBeautifulWomen,” “iPhone4S Promos,” and “LatinLove[Cost-per-Click].”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Today’s guilty pleas arise from an October 2018 indictment for which trial began on May 23, 2022. Following opening statements,
the trial was interrupted by the recent COVID surge and had yet to resume. In exchange for misdemeanor pleas, the defendants have each agreed to admit their involvement in the scheme, to undertake 100 hours of community service, and to pay a maximum $100,000
fine.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-autospace:ideograph-other"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance provided by the Internal Revenue
Service and the Department of Justice’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-autospace:ideograph-other"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">“The defendants generated millions of dollars for their company by high-jacking hundreds of thousands of IP addresses, enabling them to illegally
inundate consumers with over 10 billion email ads,” said U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman. ““This case was the first in the nation to charge violations of the CAN-SPAM Act’s provision against using hijacked IP addresses to send spam. We are committed to using
all the tools at our disposal to protect the internet and everyone who depends on it.” Grossman thanked the prosecution team as well as the investigating agencies, the American Registry of Internet Numbers, Yahoo, The Spamhaus Project, and The National Cyber-Forensics
and Training Alliance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-autospace:ideograph-other"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-autospace:ideograph-other"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#212121">“These defendants spent years illegally sending billions of spam emails nationwide which made millions
of dollars,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy. “The FBI remains committed to pursuing these criminal conspiracies, no matter how long it takes, and holding them accountable in a court of law. I want to thank the United States Attorney’s Office for
their ongoing support and partnership in bringing this case to an end.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-autospace:ideograph-other"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#212121">
<span style="background:yellow;mso-highlight:yellow"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-autospace:ideograph-other"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:#212121">The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced
<span>on October 3, 2022, at 10:30 a.m.</span> before U.S. District Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel.
</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%;text-autospace:ideograph-other">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:15.0pt;text-align:justify;line-height:15.0pt;text-autospace:ideograph-other">
<b><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">DEFENDANTS</span></u></b><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> Case Number 18cr4683-GPC
<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Jacob Bychak Age: 36 Carlsbad, CA<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Mark Manoogian Age: 39 Carlsbad, CA<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Abdul Mohammed Qayyum Age: 40 Oceanside, CA<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><b><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">SUMMARY OF CHARGES<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">CAN-SPAM – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1037(a)(5) and (b)(3)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Maximum penalty: One year in custody and $100,000 fine<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><b><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">AGENCIES<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%;text-autospace:ideograph-other">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Federal Bureau of Investigation<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;line-height:115%;text-autospace:ideograph-other">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Internal Revenue Service<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bahnschrift SemiBold",sans-serif">Kelly Thornton<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bahnschrift SemiBold",sans-serif">Director of Media Relations<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bahnschrift SemiBold",sans-serif">U.S. Attorney’s Office<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bahnschrift SemiBold",sans-serif">Southern District of California<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bahnschrift SemiBold",sans-serif"><span>619.546.9726</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Bahnschrift SemiBold",sans-serif">Follow us on Twitter @SDCAnews<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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