Fergie's Tech Blog

Spammer Soloway Once Felt 'Invincible'

Vanessa Ho writes in The Seattle Post-Intelligencer:

Strangers hated him, blamed him for wrecking their lives, deemed him a time-sucking pariah who grated on millions of people worldwide.

None of that mattered to Robert Soloway; it was part of his fortune, his way. As he vexed others, he drove Porsches, dressed in Prada, had a penthouse and lived a playboy's life.

But his insecurity was never far behind. By the time federal agents arrested him for spewing illegal e-mails, he didn't much protest the moniker they gave him – the Spam King.

"Here's my dysfunction," Soloway said recently. "It was that notoriety. People knew me. No one clapped for me at my high school graduation. Maybe it's not how I want to be famous, but (my thinking was) 'At least people know who I am.' "

Once considered one of the most prolific spammers in the world – sending millions of e-mails a day for years – Soloway was sentenced last month to nearly four years in prison after pleading guilty to tax evasion and e-mail and wire fraud.

posted by Fergie @ 8/04/2008 10:13:00 PM