Howard Carmack, the notorious 'Buffalo Spammer' accused of sending more than 825 million unsolicited e-mails from illegal EarthLink accounts, has been arrested and arraigned in New York on four felony and two misdemeanor counts.

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer heralded the case as the first criminal prosecution of a spammer under New York's six-month-old identity-theft statute. "Spammers who forge documents and steal the identity of others to create their e-mail traffic will be prosecuted," Spitzer said at a press conference. Spitzer lauded the cooperation of EarthLink in aiding the year-long investigation the resulted in the arrest of Carmack outside his upstate New York home. The arrest of Carmack came just a week after the Atlanta-based ISP won a $16 million judgment against a spam ring he allegedly operated. Carmack is accused of stealing credit cards and identities to fraudulently buy 343 EarthLink accounts to send shady and unwanted e-mail for such things as herbal therapy. Prosecutors said they do not yet know how he acquired the credit card information. He is also accused of banking fraud and other illegal activities arising from his spam operation, which authorities believe he operated on his own.