Court offers $5.5m of clarity on spam

EAST Perth-based business seminar promoter Clarity1 Pty Ltd and its director, Wayne Robert Mansfield, have been fined $5.5 million for sending unsolicited emails, the first fines to be issued under the new Spam Act. Federal Court Justice Robert Nicholson fined Clarity1 $4.5 million, and Mr Mansfield $1 million, for sending about 280 million spam emails, of which 74 million were delivered between April 2004 and April 2006. The company also has been banned from sending any unsolicited emails. In April, Mr Mansfield told WA Business News it was business as usual following the decision, and declined to say whether an appeal was likely. “We are just moving on with life,” he said. “It is something that just played its way out and we are happy with the court process. I don’t think it serves any purpose in commenting.” According to the court, Clarity1 operated under the name of Business Seminars Australia and Maverick Partnership. Australian Securities and Investments Commission records show Clarity1 is jointly owned by Mr Mansfield and Perth woman Elaine Butcher. Records also show that Carlton Crest Hotel (Sydney) Pty Ltd has sought to wind the company up.