Man described as a top spammer arrested
 

SEATTLE - 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.
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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.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070531/...te/spam_arrest

impossible, I saw Franck posting today...

Just posted that myself. was wondering if we knew him...

He is not American one way or another.


This is good thing,i see spam in my folder reduced :)

Seattle was what had me stumped.

I can't think of anyone doing that around Seattle.

:Oh crap

I hope they cut his nuts and cock off with a rusty butter knife, then let starved rats gnaw at his fingers and toes until they're nubs and stuff fire ants into his ears and up his nose.

-- suitable punishment for any spammer.

he is 1 out of 10?
so what are the other 9 doing?
cutting up his piece of the pie!
only the retards in government can consider 1 in 10 a winning score.

You do realize that the number "10" is arbitrary, right?

There's more than 10 people in the world that send out junk emails.

They could have easily said "one of the top 100", and now you'd be claiming it only made a 1% difference as opposed to 10%?

Or maybe he woulda been "one of the top 2", and you'd be more impressed?

I also doubt that people are rushing to get his "piece of the pie," either since the junk mail market isn't exactly something that was previously capped, ya know. I figure someone can probably send out as many as they want.

The fact is that if this guy was sending out millions of spam emails, and he's currently restricted from doing so, the world is getting millions of junk emails less in their inboxes.

That's progress, imho.

he only made $773,000??? :\

well, that's good news I guess :)

Feds say computer users will notice decrease in junk e-mail following arrest
 

Madness I say.

Holy shit they finally fucking got soloway. That guy is a fucking jackass POS.
I am glad they got him. Annoying fucking bastard. I hope he serves time.

Why is it, every spammer they arrest is always a "top" spammer.

Because he advertised stupid shit. He didn't sell any real products. He sold spamming services for like $30. Pretty fuckin stupid seeing as he bypassed almost all filters and had great email list.

Why would they arrest a "not top" spammer?

the feds lie.
millions of spammers still out there.
never trust anything the govn't says.

its like "the biggest drug bust ever"
and you know that is bullshit

good news , one down :)

You both need to read the article again.

Isn't the "http://www.emailbroadcastauthority.com" guy ??

No dude, that's what his pad costs. They're trying to seize it, and thats the estimated pricetag of it.

because they don't want to tell the truth
"this is the only guy we lame fucks could catch"
:1orglaugh
so they substitute "biggest ever"

Is that the reason why Franck didn't post at all today???

I still don't understand why email spammers are getting arrested while regular mail spammers are allowed to keep sending shit that ends up in the trash.

Oh wait, that's right, because the government makes money off of the regular mail spamming.

Maybe they should go after the telemarketers who call you when you are eating dinner too. Oh, never mind, someone is making money off that too.

I just don't get this shit.

Its a conspiracy

because email spammers are complete and total asswipes. Fuck them. Spammers, at heart, are people who could give a fuck less about other people, who constantly try to bust in where they're not wanted, and whose only concern is making a buck no matter who they have to steal it from.

And because they fuck up ISP's, steal your identity for their 'from' line, send shit of all kinds to anyone of any age and try to trick you into opening their lame shit. There are several companies that post on this board all the time that are known spamming companies, I would suggest you think carefully before sending them your traffic and ask yourself if you want to be doing business with this kind of people.

lmao.. that was my first thought. He's been doing this since 2003, named one of the "top ten" in the world, and only made 773k?

There's no money in spamming i guess. :1orglaugh

I just read it all of the way through, and have now seen the much bigger numbers :)

Once again - most people don't realize how many compromised, tool barred, spy wared, fucked up computers are really out there. Hopefully this guy gets the splintered broomstick up his ass and doesn't ever make it back onto the net.

Here is to hoping that the other 9 of the top 10 get nailed soon enough. Perhaps now certain adult programs will cut back on their spamming networks.

9 more to go lol

I hope so. Use to get a lot of his shit and firebird seems to have some trouble filteringit out:321GFY

This guy lives in my apartment building. LOL
small world. ;)

you do realise you can opt out of real mail spam right?

the little missing children card that comes in the mail has to be sent by law with the junk mail, you can opt out of the mailing list the most major one is a company called Advo

I don't get "little missing children" cards but i do get plenty of flyers that are hand dropped into my mailbox. Where are the laws on that? I get the same pizza, wing, real estate, etc ones every single week often multiple times per week.

773k in 4 years for a top spammer is nothing

also the truth is the majority of top spammers aren't even on the ROKSO list, only the ones stupid enough to get caught are.

The real money makers are as anonymous as possible, pulling in 50-100k a week off spam.

Anyways, what he was arrested for was not for spam, but for fraud and money laundering.

well you are canadian so the law might differ, ask your post master.

Funny how the Federali's or IRS always get people on this shit. First the mob, and now these idiots.

Yet they still do not protect themselves against it.


:disgust

:thumbsup:thumbsup

thanks for the laugh lol

no. he lived in a rental apt.

he is being represented by a public defender.

the reason he is going down is NOT because he is a spammer.

if you read the complaint he is going down 98% for fraud.

did you guys miss the part where he lost millions to microsoft and still kept going?

only because microsoft or other companies had a judgement against him doesn't mean that that's how much money he gave away...

First thing I was wondering...where did he keep the rest of his monies...

well my spam box is lighter

The laugh is that you don't have to be a total dickhead spammer to make money in this business, you'll end up going to jail or getting sued behind it, but you sociopathic motherfuckers will never stop doing it until they come and get your ass. Why? Because you're deranged criminals at heart and jail is where you probably need to be.

Any company and/or individual that will rip off, harass, and mislead surfers will do the same things to webmasters, mark my words people. A thief is a thief PERIOD. You play with fire, you deserve to get burnt.

are you calling me a spammer? do you even know me? no, that's right, now fuck off.

thanks for the laugh again :upsidedow you should do standup

good news :thumbsup:thumbsup

Glad they got him but someone from russia will fill his shoes by tomorrow...

wire fraud is federal, just like mail fraud, if he goes down for both, he'll be plugging his own asshole while he's picking up the soap. If not, the big black dude with the 10" pipe will probably take care of it. Serves him right, put him away and let him fucking rot.
One down only a shitload more to go. It's a step in the right direction though...