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King of Spam will go to jail

by on17 March 2008

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No ‘Get out of Jail Free’ card anymore


Robert Soloway, the well-known U.S. spammer whose spam linked to pornographic Web sites was sent to millions of unsuspecting persons, has been convicted of fraud, tax evasion and failure to pay fines and judgments awarded against him in numerous civil suits, is going to jail for 26 years after pleading guilty to criminal fraud and tax evasion. Soloway has also agreed to discuss his financial assets while being connected to a lie detector.  The so-called “King of Spam” had a $7.8 million judgment levied against him for claims brought by Microsoft for misuse of its software, among other claims.

Soloway bragged on Internet posts in 2005 that he had been sued for hundreds of millions of dollars and had never paid any of it nor any fines, nor had his business ever been interrupted as a result.  The U.S. Department of Justice got involved in 2007, brought charges against him and then arrested Soloway for violating the CAN-SPAM Act.

His plea deal with the DOJ states that he earned over $300,000 in 2005 alone from his spam operations and paid no taxes on it nor ever attempted to pay fines or judgments owed against him.  26 years is a long time to cool his heels in custody, even with time that will be deducted for good behavior.  We presume the King of Spam’s Internet access will be carefully monitored while he is in custody.

Last modified on 17 March 2008
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