In This Article
Subscribe to National Updates
Spammer Sent to Slammer
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Edward “Eddie” Davidson was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for tax evasion and forging e-mail headers.
30-Second Summary
According to U.S. attorney Troy Eid of the circuit court District of Colorado, Davidson ran his spamming operation, Power Promoters, through a network of “sub-spammers,” sending messages to thousands under the name of 19 companies.
Many of the messages were attempts to defraud investors on the stock market and to spark market manipulation.
In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Marcia S. Krieger imposed $714,139 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
Davidson may have gotten off easy compared to previous wearers of the “Spam King” crown. Robert Alan Soloway pleaded guilty to three spam-related charges in March and faces up to 26 years in prison. He was also forced to pay $625,000 in fines and owes millions of dollars in damages to Microsoft and the state of Oklahoma in relation to his spamming operation, centered in Seattle.
High school dropout Christopher “Rizler” Smith was sent to a solitary confinement unit at the Minnesota state penitentiary in Oak Park Heights in March 2006. Smith ran Xpress Pharmacy Direct, an illegal online pharmacy based in suburban Minneapolis that was run like a prison, according to Spam King Blog. Employees “were required to pass through metal detectors on their way in and out of the building, and were prohibited from using cell phones while in the office.”
Many of the messages were attempts to defraud investors on the stock market and to spark market manipulation.
In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Court Judge Marcia S. Krieger imposed $714,139 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.
Davidson may have gotten off easy compared to previous wearers of the “Spam King” crown. Robert Alan Soloway pleaded guilty to three spam-related charges in March and faces up to 26 years in prison. He was also forced to pay $625,000 in fines and owes millions of dollars in damages to Microsoft and the state of Oklahoma in relation to his spamming operation, centered in Seattle.
High school dropout Christopher “Rizler” Smith was sent to a solitary confinement unit at the Minnesota state penitentiary in Oak Park Heights in March 2006. Smith ran Xpress Pharmacy Direct, an illegal online pharmacy based in suburban Minneapolis that was run like a prison, according to Spam King Blog. Employees “were required to pass through metal detectors on their way in and out of the building, and were prohibited from using cell phones while in the office.”
Headline Link: ‘Prison for Colorado Spam King’
In addition to penny stocks, Davidson and his cadre of spammers also plied watches and perfumes. He has to forfeit to the court personal property collected in direct connection with his spamming, including gold coins.
Source: Denver Post
Background: Other claimants to the spam throne
Seattle-area “spam king” Robert Alan Soloway, was arrested in May 2007 following a 40-count indictment for money laundering, mail fraud, e-mail fraud and not filing a tax return in 2005, when he made $300,000 from his Internet business. He pleaded guilty to three charges in March. He faces a maximum sentence of 26 years in prison and must pay $625,000 in fines. He also owes millions for judgments in favor of Microsoft and the state of Oklahoma.
Source: The Seattle Times
Suburban Minneapolis high school dropout Christopher “Rizler” Smith ran the multimillion-dollar illegal online pharmacy Xpress Pharmacy Direct. According to Spam King Blog, employees for the operation “were required to pass through metal detectors on their way in and out of the building, and were prohibited from using cell phones while in the office. Surveillance cameras kept an eye on employees in the building's hallways.” Smith was ordered to pay AOL $5.6 million for spamming its subscribers in Jan. 2006. He was sent to a solitary confinement cell at a supermax prison in Oak Park Heights, Minn. in March 2006.
Source: Spam Kings Blog
Video: ‘Seattle Spam King’
Kelly Jo Horton concludes a clip of her Oregon public access program with a profile of Seattle-area “spam king” Soloway. Says Horton, “I’d like to send Mr. Soloway to prison for a very long time.”
Source: Tualatin Valley Community TV on YouTube
Reference: CAN-SPAM Act
The Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003, commonly known as the CAN-SPAM Act, was promulgated in 2003 to set standards for commercial e-mail. The full text of the law is available online from the FCC.
Source: Federal Communications Commission
Most Recent Beyond The Headlines
© 2012 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
