The FBI says that one man, Oleg Nikolaenko, has been responsible for nearly a third of the world's spam in recent years. Nikolaenko, aka the "Spam King," is the alleged Russian mastermind behind the "Mega-D" spam botnet, a network of infected computers used to send out junk emails. At its height, the botnet infected hundreds of thousands of computers and generated billions of spam emails hawking counterfeit goods each day. Nikolaenko was arraigned before a Milwaukee court on Friday and pleaded not guilty. Here's a look at the case by the numbers:
23
Age of the accused, Oleg Nikolaenko. "He looks like a kid you find in a basement munching nachos and playing Wii," says his attorney, Christopher Van Wagner.
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About 509,000
Number of personal computers Nikolaenko is charged with infecting and exploiting as a source of spam emails using Mega-D
136
Number of those computers located in Wisconsin, where Nikolaenko was arraigned
10 billion
Estimated number of spam emails per day that infected computers were capable of sending out at the height of the operation
2,500
Minimum number of spam emails that one has to send per day to violate the 2003 federal CAN-SPAM Act
32 percent
Portion of the world's spam for which Mega-D was once responsible, according to prosecutors
$459,098.47
Amount Nikolaenko allegedly received in 2007 for six months work sending out emails hawking "herbal remedies," erectile disfunction drugs, and counterfeit prescriptions. He was reportedly paid that amount by two convicted spammers who told the FBI they often worked with Russians.
$4,000
Amount of cash Nikolaenko was holding when arrested last month in Las Vegas (he was attending a car show)
2
Number of passports he had with him at the time
2007
Year the FBI began tracking Nikolaenko after being "tipped off" by an e-retailer who sold counterfeit watches; the latter claimed to have paid spammers $2 million to help him market his phony goods
3 years
Maximum length of the prison sentence Nikolaenko faces if convicted
$250,000
Amount he could be fined
Sources: Wall Street Journal, BBC News, CNN, Moscow News, Wall Street Journal, International Business Times
