Ex-AOL man pleads guilty to selling 92 million email addresses

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A former employee of AOL has pleaded guilty to stealing 92 million email addresses from the ISP's databases.

24-year-old Jason Smathers faces up to 15 years in prison and $500,000 fine for his part in the crime. He has pleaded guilty to conspiracy and interstate transport of stolen property. It is alleged he sold the email addresses to a co-conspirator by using another employee's ID to gain access to the database.


Another defendant, 21-year-old Sean Dunaway, of Las Vegas has been accused of using the names on the database to send spam promoting his online gambling business. Charges against Dunaway are pending.

A court hearing is expected to be set next month.

Court documents

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