Robert Soloway
Robert Alan Soloway (* 1980 ) is an American entrepreneur who came to court because of the massive sending of unsolicited and fraudulent advertising mail (spam) in the U.S. and was convicted in 2008. The largest wave of spam sent Soloway with the Tarnnachricht to provide " protection" against spam. He used for sending botnets (ie computer mostly innocent citizens ) and proxy server. Law enforcement authorities called him the "King of Spammers " (spam king ).
Spam Tactics
Soloway brought from 2003 third computer under his control to send out millions of spam e-mails. The shipment was primarily about his company. He changed while the header information of the e- mails, making it suitable for the unsuspecting recipient looked as would the mail from MSN or Hotmail senders. As a consequence, showed it to Microsoft, the owner company of the two mail services, in December 2003 and demanded the payment of more than 7 million U.S. dollars in damages. However, Soloway not also held a preliminary injunction on his spam activities. Between June 2004 and April 2005 his company for spam campaigns on behalf of various website operators like broadcastingtoday.biz or broadcastadvertise.org was ( all now decommissioned) responsible. He also marketed a mass mailing program called Dark Mailer, which is characterized, inter alia, to forge the sender address.
Arrest and judgment
2005, Microsoft had enforced a civil division of the injunction in the amount of $ 7,800,000 against the spammer, but the amount could never be recovered because Soloway disguised his accounts. After his arrest on 30 March 2007, the U.S. Attorney's Office filed charges in 35 points, including identity theft and money laundering. Two weeks before the scheduled procedure there were 40 charges, according to which Soloway to life imprisonment could have been convicted.
The defendant had several points in his defense of, for example, that these e-mails contained an exclusion clause under which they were to offer free services; the shipping was so not under the U.S. anti -spam law like (CAN -SPAM), which always presupposes a commercial background. He also made the "spam - employees " (quote Soloway ) his company Newport ( NIM) responsible Internet marketing for the first illegal actions. He had fired them after the venture of Microsoft and then put himself in the activities of the hand.
On March 14, 2008, the Court elaborated on a settlement offer from Soloway lawyers. Accordingly, the defendant declared guilty on three counts: Shipping fraudulent mail fraud in connection with electronic mail and a non- filed tax return. On July 22, 2008, the court in Seattle Robert Soloway was sentenced to 47 months in prison and a repayment of $ 700,000. Judge Marsha Pechman characterized Soloway in their judgment as a socially retarded at the level of a 13 year old offender who had grown up in computer - isolation.
In March 2011, he was paroled from prison. The probation also means that all Internet traffic for a period of three years will be supervised by probation officers.