King of Spam pleads guilty; faces 26 years in prison
The notorious spammer authorities dubbed "the King of Spam" is facing
a possible 26-year jail sentence after pleading guilty in Seattle on Friday to
charges of fraud and tax evasion.
Robert Soloway, 28, had already been found guilty of spam charges in several
civil cases -- Microsoft won a US$7.8 million judgment against him in 2005 --
but had avoided paying fines in those cases. The criminal charges to which he
pleaded guilty on Friday followed his arrest in 2007 by the U.S. Justice Department.
He was arrested on criminal charges brought by the U.S. Department of Justice
in May 2007.
In a 2005 discussion group post, Soloway
bragged, "I've been sued for hundreds of millions of dollars and have
had my business running for over 10 years without ever paying a dime regardless
to the outcome of any lawsuits."
That year, Soloway raked in more than $300,000 from his spam operations, according
to his plea agreement.
Soloway has avoided fines in the past, but this time around he may not be so
lucky. In addition to the jail time he now faces, he has also agreed to discuss
his financial assets while being monitored by a lie detector.
While there have been hundreds of spam prosecutions in the U.S., it is extremely
rare for spammers to face criminal charges, and those involved in the matter
say that Soloway's case could serve as a deterrent to other spammers.
In an interview last month, Microsoft Senior Attorney Aaron Kornblum said he
thought the prosecution would make other spammers think twice. "There have
not been a large number of criminal CAN-SPAM prosecutions in the U.S.,"
he said. "This is significant."
Soloway is set to be sentenced on June 20. The prosecution had been seeking
$700,000 in damages when Soloway was first charged nearly a year ago.
IDG News Service
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