[JURIST] Texas Attorney General Gregg Abbott [official profile] has filed a federal lawsuit against Ryan Pitylak, a 22-year-old college student, and his 40-year-old business partner, Mark Trotter, who Abbott says head the world's fourth-largest spamming operation. According to allegations in the lawsuit [complaint, PDF], Pitylak and Trotter have sent hundreds of thousands of unsolicited, misleading e-mails in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act [text] and Texas state law. The lawsuit seeks an injunction barring the pair from sending additional misleading emails and millions of dollars in fines. Pitylak and Trotter's lawyer said that a great effort was made to ensure compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act, including disclaimers on the e-mails. Read the Texas Attorney General press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit, and watch recorded video of the announcement. AP has more.