Robert Soloway

Infobox Criminal
subject_name = Robert Alan Soloway


image_size = 200
image_caption =
date_of_birth = 1980
place_of_birth = California, America
date_of_death =
place_of_death =
education =
occupation = e-mail spammer
spouse =
charge = Violations of CAN SPAM Act
penalty = 47 months imprisonment
status =
parents = Herb Soloway (father), Rachelle Soloway (mother)
children =

Robert Alan Soloway is the founder of the so-called "Strategic Partnership Against Microsoft Illegal Spam," or SPAMIS, but is said to be one of the Internet's biggest spammers through his company, Newport Internet Marketing (NIM).cite news |url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070531/ap_on_hi_te/spam_arrest
title=Man described as a top spammer arrested
last=Jesdanun
first=Anick
date=2007-05-31
publisher=Yahoo!
accessdate=2007-05-31] He was arrested on May 30, 2007, after a grand jury indicted him on charges of identity theft, money laundering, and mail, wire, and e-mail fraud.cite web
url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/The_United_States/US_Internet_Spam_King__Robert_Soloway_arrested/articleshow/2087913.cms
title=US Internet 'Spam King' arrested
accessdate=2007-05-31
date=May 31 2007
work=The Times of India] He was nicknamed the "Spam King" by prosecutors.

pamming tactics

Soloway is charged with using hijacked zombie computers and spoofing to send out millions of spam e-mails since 2003.cite web
url=http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2141418,00.asp?kc=EWKNLBOE060907FEA2
title=Podcast: How the 'Spam King' Was Caught
accessdate=2007-06-04
date=June 04 2007
work=eWeek] Some e-mails sent by Soloway's company contained false header information making them appear to have been sent from MSN and Hotmail addresses. As a result of this he was sued by Microsoft and ordered to pay $7 million in damages in December 2003. He also was sued by a small Oklahoma company and was ordered to pay $10 million in damages. [ [http://www.spamdailynews.com/publish/Spam_King_Robert_Soloway_smacked_down.asp Spam King Robert Soloway smacked down] , September 23, 2005]

However, an injunction to cease his activities did not stop him from spamming: Soloway's company was responsible, from around June 2004 until April 2005, for a spam campaign (sent from open proxy) on behalf of various websites including "broadcastingtoday.biz" and "broadcastadvertise.org" (all since suspended), which promised to send recipients' Web site addresses to several million "opt-in email addresses." He later claimed that as the service was free, the campaign was not illegal under the anti-spam law CAN-SPAM. A disclaimer in the spams stated, "the above emailing is only free if you are a nonprofit organization that aids child abuse victims."cite news
url=http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/network/2005/04/29/spamkings.html
title=Spammers Can't Hide Behind Affiliates
first=Brian
last=McWilliams
date=2005-04-29
publisher=O'Reilly Network
accessdate=2007-05-31]

Soloway insisted that NIM removed all MSN and Hotmail addresses from his mailing lists. He asserted that it was his company's subcontractors, or "spam affiliates," who had carried out the illegal activity (though he remained liable under both state and federal laws, including Washington's Commercial Electronic Mail Act and CAN-SPAM). He insisted he had fired all his subcontractors (none of whom he named) and had himself taken charge of emailing, using spam program Dark Mailer. However, a Washington superior court judge ruled that Soloway was in default.

Soloway pled guilty to three counts on 14 March 2008. He formerly operated a company based in Seattle, Washington which he is calling "Broadcast E-mail Service" that offers "mailing services" by contract as well as a software program which the site promises will allow the buyer to "email your Web site to 2,500,000 opt-in email addresses for free." E-mails advertising Soloway's company have been sent with forged headers (the headers purport to be "from" the person they were sent "to").

Soloway reportedly switched IP addresses for his Web sites to avoid detection. In 2006 he registered them through Chinese internet service providers (ISP) in an apparent ploy to mask his involvement.

Legal troubles

2005 judgments

In 2005, Microsoft won a $7.8 million civil judgment against Soloway, for spam sent through MSN and Hotmail services. That money, however, was never collected because Soloway's bank accounts remained elusive. [Shukovsky, Paul and Vanessa Ho. "'Spam King' suspect seized." "Seattle Post-Intelligencer" May 31, 2007 [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/317795_soloway31.html] [http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=7521] ]

Later in 2005, Robert Braver, an internet services provider based in Oklahoma, was awarded $10,075,000.00 in another spam-related case against Soloway. In this lawsuit, a permanent injunction was issued against Soloway, enjoining him from further spam activities. [United States District Court #CIV-05-210-T. "ROBERT H. BRAVER, Plaintiff, v. NEWPORT INTERNET MARKETING CORPORATION, and ROBERT ALAN SOLOWAY, Defendants" [http://www.spamhaus.org/rokso/evidence.lasso?rokso_id=ROK5656] ]

Those judgments, however, did not stop Soloway's illegal spamming; in fact, he mocked them. [ [http://www.spamhaus.org/rokso/evidence.lasso?rokso_id=ROK5164 E-Mail from Robert Soloway to spamhaus.org, May 17, 2005] dead link|url=http://www.spamhaus.org/rokso/evidence.lasso?rokso_id=ROK5164|date=March 2008]

Arrested in May 2007

He was arrested on May 30, 2007, after a federal grand jury indicted him on 35 charges including mail fraud, wire fraud, e-mail fraud, identity theft and money laundering. If convicted as charged, he could have faced decades in prison. Prosecutors wanted to seize $773,000 that Soloway made from his firm. [cite web
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6707333.stm
title=US arrests internet 'spam king'
accessdate=2007-05-31
date=2007-05-31
publisher=BBC]

Pleaded guilty in March 2008

On March 14, 2008, Robert Soloway reached an agreement with federal prosecutors, two weeks before his scheduled trial on 40 charges. Soloway pleaded guilty to three charges — felony mail fraud, fraud in connection with e-mail, and failing to file a 2005 tax return. [cite web
url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004283998_spamking15m.html
title='Spam king' pleads guilty to felony fraud
accessdate=2008-03-16
date=2008-03-15
publisher=Seattle Times] In exchange, federal prosecutors dropped all other charges. Soloway faced up to 27 years in prison on the most serious charge, and up to $625,000 total in fines.

Prison sentence

On 22 July 2008 Robert Soloway was sentenced to 47 months in federal prison, and ordered to repay over $700,000. As of September 22, 2008 he had not begun serving his sentence, although that was expected soon. Prosecutors had asked for a 9-year sentence. [cite web
url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20080722/tc_pcworld/148780
title=Top Spammer Sentenced to Nearly Four Years
publisher=Yahoo
date=2008-07-22] [ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26797741/ ‘Pure greed’ led spammer to bombard inboxes] ]

References

ee Also

*List of spammers