SEATTLE - Twenty-seven-year-old Robert Soloway, believed to be one of the top 10 most-prolific spammers in the world, was arrested Wednesday — a week after a federal grand jury indicted him on 35 counts ranging from mail fraud, wire fraud, email fraud, identity theft, and money laundering. Federal authorities said computer users worldwide could see less junk email in their inboxes.
"Spam is a scourge of the Internet, and Robert Soloway is one of its most prolific practitioners," U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington Jeffrey Sullivan told the Agence France-Presse. "Our investigators dubbed him the 'Spam King' because he is responsible for millions of spam emails."
Soloway, who operates both the Newport Internet Marketing Corp. and the Seattle-based Broadcast Email Service — which allegedly sends emails only to "opt-in" addresses — pleaded not guilty to all charges and could face as many as 65 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.
"He's one of the top 10 spammers in the world," Tim Cranton, a Microsoft Corp. lawyer who is senior director of the company's Worldwide Internet Safety Programs, told reporters. "He's a huge problem for our customers. This is a very good day."
Prosecutors say since 2003, Soloway used "zombie" computers — PCs infected with malware — to send out millions of junk email. In 2005, both Microsoft and an Oklahoma-based ISP won $7 million and $10 million civil judgments against Soloway, respectively; however, nearly two years after those cases, he continued to send spam.
Although Soloway told the arraigning judge he could not afford a lawyer, according to The Associated Press, he has been enjoying earnings of nearly $800,000 and living in "a ritzy apartment and [driving] an expensive Mercedes convertible," said prosecutor Kathryn Warma. Prosecutors are seeking to have him forfeit $773,000 they claim Soloway made from his business, according to the AP.
Soloway's public defender during Wednesday's hearing declined to comment.
The case is the first in the U.S. in which federal prosecutors have used identity theft statutes to prosecute a spammer for seizing someone else's Internet domain name, the AP reported.
Investigators began tracking Soloway after receiving complaints about his practices, which led to his being placed on a "watch list" by international anti-spam agency the Spamhaus Project. Numerous individuals and organizations, including the Department of Social Services in Santa Barbara County, had complained of spam that appeared to be originating from their computers.
According to authorities, Soloway used the networks of infected computers to send out unsolicited bulk emails "urging people to use his Internet marketing company to advertise their products." Clicking on the embedded link redirected to his website, where it was advertised that NIM had the ability "to send out as many as 20 million email advertisements over 15 days for $495," according to the indictment.
Spamhaus, which has battled unsolicited bulk messages, said the arrest of Soloway proves false his claims that his activities did not violate the CAN-SPAM Act. "Soloway has been a long-term nuisance on the Internet — both in terms of the spam he sent, and the people he duped to use his spam service," organizers wrote on Spamhaus.org.
A hearing is scheduled for Monday.
