William Bailey, Jr., of Charlotte, North Carolina, faces a maximum possible sentence of 55 years in jail and $2,750,000 in fines if found guilty.

Bailey is accused of of illegally accessing the database and downloading contact details of 80,000 members of the American College of Physicians (ACP) in Philadelphia, writes MediaBuyerPlanner. He runs a website called dr-411.com, which sells professional organization member databases, including addresses and email addresses for doctors, dentists, lawyers and real estate agents, according to Sophos, a threat management company.

"Criminal spammers are supported by the unethical email list providers who have sprung up like mushrooms around them. Spammers need long lists of qualified email addresses to send their unwanted marketing messages to, and so are always on the lookout for unscrupulous agencies who may assist them," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos.

"Those people who are prepared to work with spammers carry the stench of spam around with them, and if found guilty should be punished appropriately. The public demands firm action from the authorities to investigate cases like this."