Concluding the first prosecution of its kind in the United States, a well-known member of the “botmaster underground” was sentenced this afternoon to nearly five years in prison for profiting from his use of “botnets”—armies of compromised computers—that he used to launch destructive attacks, to send huge quantities of spam across the Internet, and to receive surreptitious installations of adware.

Jeanson James Ancheta, 21, of Downey, California, was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner in Los Angeles. During the sentencing hearing, Judge Klausner characterized Ancheta’s crimes as “extensive, serious and sophisticated.” The prison term is the longest known sentence for a defendant who spread computer viruses......

1. State the actus reus, mens rea, attendance circumstance(s), and “bad result” elements of the federal “Fraud and Related Activity in Connection with Computers” statute.

2. List the relevant facts Ancheta admitted, and match them up with the elements you stated in (1).

3. What purposes of punishment do the forfeiture and sentence reflect? Recall the purposes of punishment laid out in Chapter 1: punishment requires 

(a) Condemnation and hard treatment;

(b) Retribution; 

(c) A means of prevention (general and special deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation); 

(d) Restitution. Back up your answer using these purposes of punishment requirements.

4. Was the sentence fair? Too harsh? Too lenient? Explain your answer.