BIG BUSINESS: According to the complaint, the scheme ran from 2011 to 2013, and centred on a texting company that allegedly provided messages about celebrity gossip, horoscopes, jokes, love tips and trivia to phone users, through a process called "auto-subscribing."
NEW YORK: Six men have been criminally charged over an alleged "mobile cramming" scheme in which they bilked hundreds of thousands of mobile phone users out of more than US$50mil (RM183.19mil) by providing unwanted text messaging services, US authorities said.
US Attorney Preet Bharara in Manhattan announced the charges nearly a year after the defendant Lin Miao and several corporate entities settled related civil charges with the US Federal Trade Commission by surrendering more than US$10mil (RM36.63mil) of assets including a Beverly Hills, California home, Bentley and Mercedes vehicles, and Tiffany jewellery.
