Spammer fined $5 million

A Minnesota man who has been called "the poster child for the Can-Spam Act" was ordered this week to pay America Online more than $5.3 million for violating the federal anti-spam law.

The order, against Christopher William Smith, of Prior Lake, Minn., was reported on Thursday by the Associated Press. AOL said the judgement was the largest it has ever received in a junk e-mail case.

Smith, who operated under the name Rizler, sent billions of junk e-mails advertising "generic" Viagra and porn sites, according to the report. He is now in jail awaiting trial on charges he violated federal drug laws with an online pharmacy business. AOL said it pursued the case against him for three years.