Tuesday, May 6, 2008    Text size: 

The Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday that affiliates of ATM Global Systems sent out unsolicited email with false or misleading header information and failed to include an opt-out mechanism and a valid postal address.

ATM Global operates SexyFriendsearch.com, FunHookups.com, JoinDatingFun.com and EDateFunTimes.com.

On Friday, a U.S. District Court in Chicago barred the company and owners Mark Richman and Nathaniel Seidman from further violations of the U.S. CAN-SPAM Act. It also required the company to establish an affiliate monitoring program and imposes a $75,000 civil penalty.

ATM Global didn't immediately return a phone message by XBIZ seeking comment on the court order.

The company, based in Boca Raton, Fla., has used affiliates to drive users to its websites since January 2006 or earlier, the FTC said.

The affiliates sent spam with "lurid" subject lines and false header information, making it difficult for recipients to determine the identity of the sender, the FTC said.

The judge's order included a civil penalty of $442,900 — the amount the defendants made from the spamming operation — and all but $75,000 was suspended, based on the defendants' ability to pay, the FTC said.