North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper filed suit last week against a man Cooper alleges sent hundreds of illegal e-mails falsely claiming his product would increase fuel efficiency.
According to Cooper, between Jan. 25 2004 and March 30 2004 Michael Abbott, of Rockwell, N.C. sent an unspecified number of unsolicited e-mails promoting a product called alternately Super FuelMax and Fuel Saver Pro to 742 e-mail addresses, 179 of which were spam traps set up as Hotmail accounts by Microsoft Corp.
Abbott’s e-mail violated the Can-Spam Act of 2003 by claiming to be from someone other than Abbott, containing inaccurate header information, failing to offer a way to opt out of future solicitations and failing to provide a valid physical address, Cooper alleged.
Cooper is also charging that Abbott’s e-mail misrepresented the benefits of Fuel Saver Pro.
Cooper is seeking an injunction barring Abbott from sending unsolicited commercial e-mail and unspecified civil damages.
"We're seeking to shut down this spammer who sent out hundreds of misleading e-mails," said Cooper in a statement. "Not only were these e-mails illegal spam, but the product he hawked doesn't live up to its inflated claims."
Abbott’s wife reportedly told the Charlotte Observer he has done nothing wrong.
