"Spam King" sentenced to 47 months
A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced "Spam King" Robert Soloway to 47 months in federal prison.Prosecutors had requested that Soloway, who pleaded guilty in March to spamming tens of millions of unwanted emails, receive a nine-year prison sentence.
The prosecution had presented a number of witnesses -- including victims and experts from AOL, internet hosting firm Liquid Web and the FBI -- to detail the impact of Soloway's unsolicited emails.
Soloway of Seattle was accused of violating the federal CAN-SPAM Act to send addressees deceptive junk mail that appeared to be coming from themselves. He used the money earned through spam to fuel a lavish lifestyle.
Richard Cox, chief information officer of anti-spam group Spamhaus, told SCMagazineUS.com on Wendesday that he was a bit disappointed by the lighter-than-requested sentence imposed on Soloway. But Cox said he takes solace that a number of other high-profile spammers have been charged under federal laws.
"At least we are seeing consistency of these guys going down," he said.
The judge, Marsha Pechman, will decide on restitution for victims at a later hearing.
