Federal judge might trim sentence of 'spam king'

DETROIT (AP) -- Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to significantly reduce the sentence of a Detroit-area man who is known as the "spam king" for sending millions of emails to boost the price of Chinese stocks. The U.S. attorney's office says Alan Ralsky of West Bloomfield greatly assisted authorities in pursuing others and should be rewarded. In 2009, Ralsky was sentenced to 51 months in prison for conspiracy, fraud and money laundering. In a court filing Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg in Detroit asked a judge to consider cutting the punishment to 35 months. Berg says Ralsky helped the government get a guilty plea from New York stockbroker Gregg Berger, who made millions by selling stocks promoted by the Michigan man. Authorities called it a "pump-and-dump" scheme. Published: Thu, May 26, 2011