Man allegedly responsible for a third of your spam e-mail arraigned
December 3rd, 2010
11:09 PM ET

Man allegedly responsible for a third of your spam e-mail arraigned

[Updated at 11:00 p.m.] Oleg Nikolaenko, a Russian man the FBI believes has been responsible for one-third of the spam in your inbox, pleaded not guilty Friday in federal court in Wisconsin.

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[Posted at 10:20 a.m.] A Russian man the FBI believes has been responsible for one-third of the spam you get in your inbox is scheduled to be arraigned in a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, court Monday.

According to court documents and FBI affidavits, researchers began tracking down the "Mega-D" spam automated botnet as a prime source of selling counterfeit goods, and the mastermind of it all is Oleg Nikolaenko.

"'Mega-D" was likely the largest botnet in the world, accounting for 32% of all spam," the court documents said. "Security researchers estimated that the botnet was capable of sending ten billion spam email messages a day.”

The documents show the scope of the counterfeit ring and the authorities' attempts to track down Nikolaenko.

A glimpse into how much Nikolaenko's operation may have made can be seen in court documents that allege that he received a payment of  $459,098.47 between June 4 and December 5, 2007, resulting from e-mails for those peddling everything from advertised erectile dysfunction drugs, other counterfeit prescriptions, "herbal remedies" and even fake Rolex watches.

A break in finding the alleged mastermind was one of those watches. The path to Nikolaenko began when a seller of counterfeit Rolexes told authorities after he was arrested that he paid more than $2 million working with spammers to sell his product. He gave them information that resulted in a trail of information that led officials across several continents, to different e-mail addresses and websites and, eventually, back to Nikolaenko.

FBI agents and the Federal Trade Commission had been monitoring him since at least 2007, according to documents. That included two trips to the U.S. last year. And their big nab came when he went to Las Vegas, Nevada, for an auto show. He was arrested on November 4.

Christopher Van Wagner, Nikolaenko's lawyer, could not be reached immediately for comment. But he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that so far, the charges against his client are only accusations.

"We're prepared to present a rigorous defense," he said.

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Filed under: Crime • Russia • Technology • Wisconsin
soundoff (498 Responses)
  1. Free the Leaf

    spam is alright in the tummy after you choke it down
    http://www.facebook.com/free.the.leaf

    December 3, 2010 at 9:35 pm | Report abuse |
  2. Who What When Where Why?

    I really have a hard time believing you got the right or only guy responsible. I still get the same amount of BS spam every day.

    December 3, 2010 at 9:37 pm | Report abuse |
  3. Judge Roy Bean

    I get around 1000 spam messages a day. My employer gets over 10,000. I have spent countless hours tweaking my spam filters, poring through countless piles of spam looking for one GOOD message that I know is there buried under the pile.

    This SOB should be publicly executed. On web cams. Want to solve the national Debt? Sell kicks on this lowlife swine for $100 each. I'll buy 10.

    December 3, 2010 at 10:12 pm | Report abuse |
  4. Cesar

    Ahhhh come on. Give the guy a break. He's just trying to make a living. We all gotta eat.

    December 3, 2010 at 10:14 pm | Report abuse |
  5. Dee Ann

    Send him to the TSA to be a training dummy for Junk Groping.
    Make sure they squeeze his junk so hard that it breaks so he can never reproduce.

    December 3, 2010 at 10:51 pm | Report abuse |
  6. thhhhhhhhhh

    within 3 years there wont be any more spam so this really isnt a big deal.

    December 3, 2010 at 11:28 pm | Report abuse |
  7. Dude

    Dude should be *&$# in the ass, then given some LSD, then let loose in a wilderness area in the Western United States.....be the Rockies or the Cascades with a tracking collar. If he makes it out.....then he is put in prison with a web cam on him doing what another poster said.....eating 5 lbs of spam each day. If he does this and prays to the God of Dudeism, or a Dudeist Priest, then maybe he can be let out in Siberia after 5 years

    December 4, 2010 at 12:05 am | Report abuse |
  8. Dude

    Dude

    Dude should be *&$# in the ass, then given some LSD, then let loose in a wilderness area in the Western United States.....be the Rockies or the Cascades with a tracking collar. If he makes it out.....then he is put in prison with a web cam on him doing what another poster said.....eating 5 lbs of spam each day. If he does this and prays to the God of Dudeism, or a Dudeist Priest, then maybe he can be let out in Siberia after 5 yea

    December 4, 2010 at 12:09 am | Report abuse |
  9. Dude

    maybe you just need to take another dose, oh....and Donny...."shut the ### up!"

    December 4, 2010 at 12:12 am | Report abuse |
  10. judgehimnot

    Update:Coverup! It turns out, this guy is actually working on behalfe of homeland secruity. Its the latest on wiki-leaks.

    December 4, 2010 at 12:54 am | Report abuse |
  11. Bert

    How many system administrators have spent days, weeks, and months tearing their hair out, trying to keep all this garbage out of their email servers?

    December 4, 2010 at 1:03 am | Report abuse |
  12. Mindy

    are you guys serious?? this is SPAM we are talking about. It doesn't hurt nobody. They are crazy if they give him a long sentence or death.

    December 4, 2010 at 1:40 am | Report abuse |
  13. Lia

    I'd dance a jig if not for the fact that there's plenty of people to take his place... I've never met anyone who actually bought goods or services as a result of spam...so what's the point?

    December 4, 2010 at 3:18 am | Report abuse |
  14. bigger_little_john

    I am going to sue the FBI for removing my John enlargement emails!

    December 4, 2010 at 3:59 am | Report abuse |
  15. christy

    Dang did do that. i personaly hate lyers haters just like my signature. I was suppose to have back up plains as wemon and children all need charity. I waould love for all the go to christmas christmas and the ama withdisabilities and the six sigma colleges im a med and medical what goes around comes around higher education act my father needs the advantages he is retired from caltrans.and please help the needy not the greaty. I have two fraverate books merriam websters collegiate dictionary 11th edition and my goals or for achievers witch are leaders im not a follower i new i just did not care because the help was not there thanks i did not read i need some more clothes i threw all my clothes outside and i want to recycle them. Thanks i hate this phone i have a labtop it came back from jail a week ago it is hard. I just dont thanks for all the support job well done i already knew what this was about working with others as a team the leaders. Money instatute dealing w it is hard

    December 4, 2010 at 6:24 am | Report abuse |
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