A 27-year-old man described as one of the world's most prolific
spammers was arrested Wednesday, and federal authorities said
computer users across the Web could notice a decrease in
the amount of junk e-mail.
Robert Alan Soloway is accused of using networks of compromised
"zombie" computers to send out millions upon millions of spam
e-mails.
"He's one of the top 10 spammers in the world," said Tim Cranton, a
Microsoft Corp. lawyer who is senior director of the company's
Worldwide Internet Safety Programs. "He's a huge problem for our
customers. This is a very good day."
A federal grand jury last week returned a 35-count indictment
against Soloway charging him with mail fraud, wire fraud, e-mail
fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering.
Soloway pleaded not guilty Wednesday afternoon to all charges after
a judge determined that even with four bank accounts seized by
the government he was sufficiently well off to pay for his own
lawyer.
He has been living in a ritzy apartment and drives an expensive
Mercedes convertible, said prosecutor Kathryn Warma. Prosecutors
are seeking to have him forfeit $773,000 they say he made from his
business, Newport Internet Marketing Corp.
A public defender who represented him for Wednesday's hearing
declined to comment.
Prosecutors say Soloway used computers infected with malicious code
to send out millions of junk e-mails since 2003. The computers are
called "zombies" because owners typically have no idea their
machines have been infected.
He continued his activities even after Microsoft won a $7 million
civil judgment against him in 2005 and the operator of a small
Internet service provider in Oklahoma won a $10 million judgment,
prosecutors said.
U.S. Attorney Jeff Sullivan said Wednesday that the case is the
first in the country in which federal prosecutors have used
identity theft statutes to prosecute a spammer for taking over
someone else's Internet domain name. Soloway could face decades in
prison, though prosecutors said they have not calculated what
guideline sentencing range he might face.
The investigation began when the authorities began receiving
hundreds of complaints about Soloway, who had been featured on a
list of known spammers kept by The Spamhaus Project, an
international anti-spam organization.
The Santa Barbara County, Calif., Department of Social Services
said it was spending $1,000 a week to fight the spam it was
receiving, and other businesses and individuals complained of
having their reputations damaged when it appeared spam was
originating from their computers.
"This is not just a nuisance. This is way beyond a nuisance," Warma
said.
Soloway used the networks of compromised computers to send out
unsolicited bulk e-mails urging people to use his Internet
marketing company to advertise their products, authorities
said.
People who clicked on a link in the e-mail were directed to his Web
site. There, Soloway advertised his ability to send out as many as
20 million e-mail advertisements over 15 days for $495, the
indictment said.
The Spamhaus Project rejoiced at his arrest.
"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.
Soloway remained in federal detention pending a hearing
Monday.
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