Notorious spammer pleads guilty to tax evasion and fraud

Notorious spammer Robert Soloway faces an extended spell behind bars after pleading guilty to fraud and tax evasion charges last Friday.

Soloway, 28, from Seattle, has previously been found guilty of sending spam in several civil cases, most notably when Microsoft won a $7.8m judgement against him back in 2005. But he's always avoided paying fines.

Now, however, the man authorities have described as the "King of Spam" (arguably one of the most overused phrases in computer security) is in far more serious trouble. As well as facing a maximum sentence of 26 years behind bars, Soloway faces the indignity of being questioned about where he's stashed his ill-gotten gains while being monitored by a lie-detector.

According to his lawyers, the only assets are a collection of two dozens pairs of expensive sunglasses valued at more than $3,700, 27 pairs of shoes, and clothing worth about $14,200.

Soloway, who is due to be sentenced on 20 June, was arrested in May 2007 under charges brought by the US Department of Justice as explained here.

Authorities dropped aggravated identity theft and money laundering charges in exchange for a guilty plea, the Seattle Times reports. ®