Leesburg, VA, Apr. 8 (UPI) -- A Virginia judge Friday sentenced one of the top 10 spammers in the world to nine years in prison. It is the first felony conviction for spam, Betanews.com reported. Jeremy Jaynes, named one of the top spammers by spam watchdog Spamhaus, was convicted in November of using aliases to send more than 10 million e-mails a day. Jaynes, 30, of Raleigh, Va., allegedly made much as 750,000$ per month through his spam operation.

Judge Thomas Horne postponed the sentence while Jaynes' lawyers appeal the ruling.

Jaynes' lawyers are appealing the case on grounds that the Virginia law under which he was prosecuted violated his free speech rights.