Russian ‘Spam King’ Spared Further Prison Time in Botnet Case

A Russian hacker who was once labeled one of the world’s most notorious spammers was spared additional prison time by a federal judge in Connecticut.

Peter Levashov, 40, was sentenced to time served on Tuesday during a remote proceeding before U.S. District Judge Robert Chatigny in Hartford. The St. Petersburg native, who pleaded guilty in 2018 to stealing personal information and passwords from thousands of hijacked computers he used to distribute spam emails pushing fake drugs and scam investments, has been in U.S. custody for 4 1/2 years already.

Levashov had asked Chatigny to spare him from additional prison time, ...