Accused Seattle spammer Robert Soloway suffers from multiple psychological disorders, according to a document aimed at getting him released on bail, and some observers are speculating his attorney may be laying the groundwork to use the disorders in his defense.
Soloway suffers from anxiety, depression and Tourette’s syndrome—a disorder characterized by chronic vocal and motor tics—according to a document filed by defense attorney Richard Troberman.
“[T]hese physical and mental conditions will not interfere with his ability to appear for future court appearances,” said the statement. “Indeed, given the difficulty in obtaining proper medical care at the Federal Detention Center, Robert will be in much better physical and mental health if he is released.”
Some close observers of this case are speculating that Soloway’s past behavior may have come e back to haunt him and that his defense attorney is laying the groundwork for a mental-health defense.
“I thought that the message Troberman was trying to get across was pretty obvious: Soloway is mentally ill and the prison isn’t as able to handle it as well as his existing doctors,” Mickey Chandler, Internet consultant and publisher of spam-related legal archive Spamsuite.com, wrote in an e-mail exchange with this newsletter. “There might also be some desire to blame some of the clearly outrageous things that Soloway did and said on these conditions and mentioning it in the Detention Response is just starting to lay the groundwork for that.”
An example of the outrageous behavior Chandler is referring to is a 2005 post on an online bulletin board in which someone claiming to be Soloway bragged that he’d never pay a dime on legal judgments against him.
Microsoft in 2005 won a $7.85 million judgment against Soloway, but has not seen any of the money. Also in 2005, an Oklahoma judge granted default judgment against Soloway for more than $10 million.
“Neither I, nor my company will be for filing bankruptcy and Microsoft will not be collecting a single dime from me, nor has anyone ever collected a single dime from me from any lawsuit I have been in,” the person claiming to be Soloway wrote.
“The Microsoft lawsuit was the most enjoyable lawsuit I have been in, in a long time. I met up with all of them and had fun through the entire process,” the person claiming to be Soloway continued. “I’ve been in business for over 10 years with the best accountants in the world, and lawyers in all 50 states that know how to run my business legally and protect me from all lawsuits that come my way.. not a concern.. I just pay them a few hours of my work and they take care of the entire cases for me...”
U.S. attorney Kathryn Warma referenced the above statements during her June 13 arguments to have Soloway detained without bail, according to a transcript of the proceeding. Warma also argued that Soloway has a history of thumbing his nose at the courts, and has demonstrated repeatedly “he has no intention, apparently, of any adherence to do what a court orders … and there is a risk he will not adhere to any order this court imposes.”
Defense attorney Troberman argued that the government failed to show Soloway is a flight risk, that he doesn’t have any assets, and that the government could track him using a GPS at all times. However, Troberman didn’t deny Soloway made the statements above.
U.S. Magistrate Judge James P. Donohue deemed Soloway a flight risk and ordered him to remain in jail until his trial on August 6.
Soloway was arrested on May 30 on 35 charges including mail fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft. The government is also seeking $773,000. Soloway has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
