US spam accused pleads not guilty
Source: Agencies |
December 5, 2010, Sunday
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Print Edition
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A 23-year-old Russian man accused of masterminding a vast worldwide spamming network pleaded not guilty on Friday in federal court in Wisconsin to violating a US anti-spam law.
The judge ordered Oleg Y. Nikolaenko held without bond, saying he was a flight risk because of his access to cash and lack of ties to Wisconsin or the United States.
Nikolaenko was brought into court wearing bright orange prison pants and matching sweatshirt and shackled at the ankles. His attorney entered the plea as a Russian interpreter translated for the Moscow man.
Prosecutors say Nikolaenko ran a network that involved placing malicious code on unsuspecting users' computers and then hijacking the infected machines to blast out billions of e-mails.
Internet experts say the network was so massive that on some days it accounted for one in every three unwanted e-mails in the world.
Nikolaenko is charged with violating the CAN-SPAM act by intentionally falsifying header information in commercial e-mail messages and sending at least 2,500 spam e-mails per day, the minimum threshold for the charge. Prosecutors say his network was capable of sending up to 10 billion messages per day.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in jail and a US$250,000 fine.
Disheveled hair
Nikolaenko, unshaven with disheveled hair, sat silent and expressionless during the 20-minute proceedings.
His attorney, Christopher Van Wagner, said he intended to mount a vigorous defense and would examine whether broad pre-trial publicity might jeopardize his client's ability to receive a fair trial.
"Some people still harbor Cold War images of people from Russia," he said on the courthouse steps. "You take one look at Oleg, he looks like a kid you find in a basement munching nachos and playing Wii" video games.
Assistant US Attorney Erica O'Neil said the prosecution's case would hinge on "voluminous" records, including e-mails Nikolaenko allegedly sent and information gleaned from computer hard drives. She said a computer-crimes expert from the US Department of Justice is assisting because of the complexity of the case.
Nikolaenko was arrested last month at the Bellagio Hotel while he was in Las Vegas for a car show. He is being tried in Milwaukee because that's where an undercover FBI investigator ordered Viagra through an e-mail distributed by Nikolaenko's alleged operation and got bogus herbal pills instead, an FBI spokesman said.
O'Neil said Nikolaenko is being held at a US Marshal detention facility in Milwaukee. He is due in court on December 21 for a scheduling conference.
The judge ordered Oleg Y. Nikolaenko held without bond, saying he was a flight risk because of his access to cash and lack of ties to Wisconsin or the United States.
Nikolaenko was brought into court wearing bright orange prison pants and matching sweatshirt and shackled at the ankles. His attorney entered the plea as a Russian interpreter translated for the Moscow man.
Prosecutors say Nikolaenko ran a network that involved placing malicious code on unsuspecting users' computers and then hijacking the infected machines to blast out billions of e-mails.
Internet experts say the network was so massive that on some days it accounted for one in every three unwanted e-mails in the world.
Nikolaenko is charged with violating the CAN-SPAM act by intentionally falsifying header information in commercial e-mail messages and sending at least 2,500 spam e-mails per day, the minimum threshold for the charge. Prosecutors say his network was capable of sending up to 10 billion messages per day.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in jail and a US$250,000 fine.
Disheveled hair
Nikolaenko, unshaven with disheveled hair, sat silent and expressionless during the 20-minute proceedings.
His attorney, Christopher Van Wagner, said he intended to mount a vigorous defense and would examine whether broad pre-trial publicity might jeopardize his client's ability to receive a fair trial.
"Some people still harbor Cold War images of people from Russia," he said on the courthouse steps. "You take one look at Oleg, he looks like a kid you find in a basement munching nachos and playing Wii" video games.
Assistant US Attorney Erica O'Neil said the prosecution's case would hinge on "voluminous" records, including e-mails Nikolaenko allegedly sent and information gleaned from computer hard drives. She said a computer-crimes expert from the US Department of Justice is assisting because of the complexity of the case.
Nikolaenko was arrested last month at the Bellagio Hotel while he was in Las Vegas for a car show. He is being tried in Milwaukee because that's where an undercover FBI investigator ordered Viagra through an e-mail distributed by Nikolaenko's alleged operation and got bogus herbal pills instead, an FBI spokesman said.
O'Neil said Nikolaenko is being held at a US Marshal detention facility in Milwaukee. He is due in court on December 21 for a scheduling conference.
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