"Spam King" Arrested

"Spam king" arrested in Seattle
Seattle man is charged with mail fraud, identity theft, fraud, and money laundering

By Nancy Gohring, IDG News Service May 31, 2007

A Seattle man was arrested Wednesday morning for illegal spamming activities. The arrest follows an indictment by a federal grand jury in Seattle last week.

The indictment charges Robert Alan Soloway and his company, Newport Internet Marketing Corp., with fraudulently selling broadcast e-mail products and services that amounted to spam. The U.S. attorney's office for the Western District of Washington refers to Soloway as a "spam king," for the volume of unsolicited commercial e-mail his company produced. He is charged with mail fraud, identity theft, fraud, and money laundering.

Soloway advertised a mass e-mail service that sent messages to an opt-in list of addresses, but didn't actually use such a permission-based list, the indictment said. He also sold software products that customers could use themselves to send out mass e-mails. However, the product often didn't work and if it did, it sent e-mails using forged headers. He also failed to offer promised support services, according to the court documents.

In addition, when customers complained, Soloway threatened additional fees and referral to a collection agency.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/05/31/Spam-king-arrested_1.html