By GENE JOHNSON, AP Legal Affairs Writer
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.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press.
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Gene Johnson, AP Legal Affairs Writer (