update: Vancouver promoter How Wai John Hui has been sentenced to four years and three months for his role in a stock spam scheme. Judge Marianne O. Battani imposed jail time on him and three others in a Detroit courtroom on Monday, Nov. 23, 2009. The others included Alan Ralsky, the self-proclaimed "Godfather of spam," who also received four years and three months in jail.
Prosecutors claimed the men were part of a scheme to promote thinly traded Chinese companies with spam in the summer of 2005. The stocks that the men promoted included OTC Bulletin Board listing China World Trade Corp., which had Mr. Hui as its chief executive officer. Another company was Vancouver-based China Mobility Solutions Inc.
The government said the sentences, which were longer than prosecutors had requested, will send a message to stock market spammers. "People who use fraudulent e-mails to drive up stock prices and reap illicit profits will be prosecuted, and they will face significant prison time," said a statement released by Detroit's Assistant Attorney General, Lanny Breuer.
Mr. Hui had faced a maximum of 20 years in jail, but prosecutors recommended a sentence of three years and three months, because he pled guilty early in the case and offered to testify against his co-defendants. Prior to his sentencing, Mr. Hui had asked the judge not to send him to jail. He said he had effectively been a prisoner in the United States for nearly two years, and that he had health problems.
The judge did not grant his request. In addition to the jail term, she ordered Mr. Hui to serve three years of supervised release, and to forfeit $500,000 to the U.S. government. Mr. Ralsky received five years of supervised release, and he must forfeit $250,000. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.)
