The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has fined a New Zealand man $15 million; Spamhaus claims this is one of the largest spam gangs in the world. The gang, operating under the names “Canadian Healthcare” and “HerbalKing” has been operating since 2005 and has sent billions of spam messages hawking male enhancement products, weight loss pills and other pharmaceuticals. The spam messages directed the recipients to websites owned by an affiliate network called Affking. The sites claimed to be offering drugs from U.S. pharmacies when they were actually shady black market drugs made in India. They also stole credit card information and personal data. The gang appears to have made their profits from all three operations – the fake drugs, the affiliate network and the data harvesting.

The drugs are untested and could be dangerous if used. The gang leader, Lance Atkinson, and his partner Jody Smith, were also ordered to turn over all their assets, which amount to over $1 million, and Smith faces jail time. Their company, Inet Ventures Pty Ltd, registered in Australia, has received over 3 million complaints from consumers. Spamming seems to run in the family. Atkinson’s brother, Shane was fined over $112,000 earlier this year by a New Zealand court for his spamming activities.

Atkinson is a New Zealand citizen living in Australia, which will make collecting on the fine difficult. He’s not required to pay unless he enters the U.S. Smith however, does live in the U.S. and will soon be sentenced for conspiracy to traffic counterfeit goods, which he pled guilty to. The conviction carries a maximum 5 year sentence.