A federal court in Chicago has now issued a permanent injunction halting illegal spamming and deceptive product claims, and has also frozen the assets of Creaghan A. Harry, a resident of Boca Raton, Florida. Harry sells bogus “human growth hormone” products over the Internet through spam emails. From January 1 through May 31, 2004, consumers have forwarded approximately 40,000 complaints to the FTC concerning spam messages linked to Harry.

The text of the illegal spam messages contained hyperlinks to various Web sites that market Harry’s products, “Supreme Formula HGH” and “Youthful Vigor HGH.” The Web sites claimed that the products stop or reverse the aging process, causing a veritable laundry list of effects like weight loss, muscle gain, hair regrowth, wrinkle removal, and higher energy levels. Experts for the FTC have concluded that the claims are wholly false and that Harry’s products have no discernible effect on the body. Harry charges $79.95 for a one-month supply of the bogus products.

The FTC also alleged that Harry took many steps to hide his involvement with the bogus product operation, including using a variety of names, foreign addresses, anonymous Web sites and spam, and having the proceeds of the product sales deposited into a bank account in Latvia. The defendant disguised the source of spam by sending the messages through “open proxies,” which are vulnerable computers through which a spammer can route email messages. Sending the messages through these vulnerable computers essentially “launders” the emails, making it appear as though they were sent by the party with the vulnerable computer. The FTC also alleged that in certain instances, the source of Harry’s emails was disguised by forging return addresses in the “reply-to” or “from” fields of his spam – a practice known as spoofing.

The FTC’s complaint specifically charged that the deceptive product claims violate the FTC Act, and the spam email messages violate the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pronography and Marketing Act of 2003 (CAN-SPAM Act) by: (1) disguising their source; (2) failing to provide a clear and conspicuous notice for consumers to opt-out from further e-mail; and (3) failing to provide a valid physical postal address in the message text. On July 27, 2004, a U.S. District Court Judge issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting illegal spamming, prohibiting false product claims, and freezing Harry’s assets to preserve the funds for possible redress to consumers who bought his bogus products.