MySpace alleges that Media Breakaway gained access to private MySpace user accounts through phishing schemes and then used those compromised accounts to send unsolicited marketing messages to MySpace users.

“We are very pleased that Pete Wellborn has agreed to represent Scott Richter and Media Breakaway in the lawsuit filed by MySpace,” said Steve Richter, Scott Richter’s father and General Counsel for Media Breakaway in a statement. Wellborn, a practitioner of technology law, has represented ISPs and ecommerce companies since 1996.

“At this time, the only information we have regarding this lawsuit comes from MySpace’s press release earlier this week,” added Steve Richter. “We obviously deny the allegations made in the press release”

Scott Richter was ordered to pay $7 million in 2005 after a suit brought on by Microsoft and the New York Attorney General’s Office, forcing his previous email marketing company, OptInRealBig, into bankruptcy.

While the MySpace suit is a civil one, under the CAN-SPAM act of 2003, Scott Richter and Media Breakaway could still be faced with heavy fines or jail time.

MySpace claims that Richter’s current company, Media Breakaway, was able to access MySpace user accounts through identity-stealing phishing schemes and then used those accounts to spam other MySpace users with promotional offers for everything from ringtones to Polo shirts.

The amount of damages sought by MySpace has not been disclosed. In a 2005 suit filed by Microsoft and then-New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer, Richter was ordered to pay $7 million after refusing to pay a $100,000 fine.

Richter filed for bankruptcy after the 2005 ruling, and later that year, his company was removed from the Registry of Known Spam Operators run by Spamhaus, a non-profit group that tracks known spammers and spam activity.

“If it takes filing a federal suit to stop someone who violates the law and damages our members’ experience, then that’s what we’ll do,” said Hemanshu Nigam, MySpace’s chief security officer in a statement. MySpace has been under the watchful eyes lately of parenting groups who fear the online service may unwittingly be a harbor for online predators. As a result, the News Corp-owned social networking leader is now taking steps by posting Amber alerts to notify its members of missing children in their communities.

[UPDATE: In response to the MySpace lawsuit and subsequent press release, Steve Richter, General Counsel to Scott Richter and Media Breakaway, LLC sent a response denying allegations made in the MySpace press release. Steven Richter states:

"Like everyone else in the industry we are only aware of what MySpace has alleged in their press release, as we have not been served. Obviously we deny the allegations made in the press release". "Several months ago I spoke with counsel for MySpace about some complaints they received and we cooperated with them fully and were assured that if there were any outstanding issues, they would get back to us. I guess this is their way of getting back to us. He added, "I just hope that the purpose of their press release was not to distract the public and governmental attention that has been focused on MySpace recently regarding their alleged misconduct." ]

“Today, one year after we filed for bankruptcy, Optinrealbig.com has emerged from the bankruptcy process as a stronger, re-energized, and adaptable company that is prepared to compete with the best that the industry has to offer.” said OptInRealBig CEO and one-time self-proclaimed “Spam King” Scott Richter in a statement.

After receiving a court reprieve from the Microsoft a while ago, and reporting a sharp increase in direct marketing sales in the first quarter of 2006, OptIn announced today that a judge has now officially brought them out of bankruptcy.

“We have made changes to our organization which allows us to operate much more efficiently… We’ve modified the way we do business that not only continues to comply with regulations, but far surpasses industry-wide best practices. All of these essential changes along with the support of our advertisers and affiliates have helped us achieve the record breaking sales and profits that we have been experiencing for the past twelve months,” added Richter.

OptinRealBig.com takes into account its clients budget, ideal consumer, and short- and long-term goals to create effective opt-in and co-registered marketing campaigns. It draws from an online user database of over 8 million, receives 20 million page views per month on its clients’ websites, and delivers an average of 350,000 website orders per month.

In addition to the success of several popular campaigns—Ringaza, PC BugDoctor, PetCareRx and White Over Nite—Optin’s President Steve Richter attributes the early success to numerous programs within the company: “The improvement in our deliverability of advertisements, the expansion of our Affiliate Network (CPA Empire), the implementation of our E3 (Exceeding Expectations Everyday) employee incentive program, the success of our Thank You Affiliates Rewards Program, the addition of key employees to our team, and the continuing dedication of our team, have all contributed to the record-breaking numbers for 2006.”

In her decision, Judge Eileen Bransten found that, with regard to the case against Synergy6, “The evidence here is insufficient to merit the relief sought and there has been no showing of entitlement to judgment as a matter of law. In the end, the people have not submitted evidence establishing that Synergy6 can be liable for Delta Seven’s fraud. There is no proof that Synergy6 authorized Delta Seven to act on its behalf or that it ratified Delta Seven’s conduct. Likewise, there is no possible theory under which Mr. Champion can be liable for Delta Seven’s conduct either.”

The decision comes as a blow to Spitzer, who has rarely seen defeat in such court cases. The attorney general wasn’t talking to the press after the ruling, but in a statement of his own, Justin Champion questioned Spitzer’s actions, alluding to a December 2003 press conference in which Spitzer said he would utilize financial pressure to destroy Synergy6 and Mr. Champion, while Microsoft (the other plaintiff in the case) claimed to be willing to take “whatever remains.”

“Who is going to explain to the former Synergy6 employees that their jobs were eliminated through the wheels of politics?”, Champion asks. “Is Mr. Spitzer going to explain to my family why he destroyed my business while unable to provide the Court with even a basic establishment of liability on the part of me or my company, without ever having a chance to defend itself?”

Until Spitzer’s accusations came to light, Synergy6 was a fast-growing online ad agency achieving nearly $9MM in its first year of operation and with over 50 employees. According to the court document, Synergy6 was “put out of business” shortly after the suit was filed.