Business in brief: ‘Spam king’ pleads guilty to fraud
A man once desribed as one of the world’s top 10 computer spammers has pleaded guilty to federal charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, and failure to file a tax return.
Robert Alan Soloway, 29, who was dubbed “the spam king” by prosecutors, entered the plea in U.S. District Court in Seattle on Friday to three of the charges listed in a 40-count indictment. The remaining charges were dismissed.
Soloway was arrested last summer. Prosecutors said he used networks of compromised computers to send out millions upon millions of junk e-mails since 2003.
Soloway made hundreds of thousands of dollars from his spamming business, Newport Internet Marketing Corp. When he’s sentenced in June, Judge Marsha Pechman will determine how much restitution he must pay. The government already seized at least four of his bank accounts, and Soloway has agreed to take a polygraph test as to his remaining assets.
He could face up to 20 years in prison.
BLOOMINGTON, Minn.
Nickelodeon gang takes Snoopy’s place
So long, Charlie Brown. SpongeBob is taking over.
The Mall of America’s indoor amusement park, seven sprawling acres of rides, games and assorted fun once ruled by the Peanuts gang, is now the domain of Nickelodeon Universe.
After a $25 million makeover, SpongeBob Squarepants, Dora the Explorer and Boots the Monkey now greet visitors to the park, which has its grand opening today with appearances by Ashlee Simpson and an assortment of the popular cable network’s stars.
The debut gives Nickelodeon its first stand-alone theme park as it expands its brand. For the megamall, the new tenant fills a void left by Snoopy’s departure two years ago with attractions that promise to pull in more older children and teenagers.
The mall considered “almost every brand out there” before choosing Nickelodeon, which is owned by Viacom Inc., spokeswoman Maureen Hooley Bausch said.
“They’re the No. 1 brand with children,” Bausch said.
Nickelodeon, which also is expanding into cruises in August and developing a lodging resort brand with Marriott International Inc., has had Nick-branded zones in theme parks before but never a full park.
Detroit
Regal, Grand Prix recall cites fire worry
General Motors Corp. is recalling 207,542 Buick Regal and Pontiac Grand Prix sedans over a risk they could catch fire, and warned their owners not to park the cars in garages until they are fixed.
The automaker said Friday it is recalling the 1997-2003 Buick Regal GS and Grand Prix GTP models with 3.8-liter supercharged V-6 engines.
During hard braking, drops of oil can leak from the engine onto the exhaust manifold, and fires can start if the oil gets hot enough, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on its Web site.
GM spokeswoman Carolyn Markey said the problem has caused 267 vehicle fires and six injuries, five of them minor and one moderate.
It also has caused 17 fires in structures, GM said.
The NHTSA said that if the exhaust manifold is hot enough and the oil gets below a heat shield, “it may ignite into a small flame and in some cases fire may spread to the plastic spark plug wire channel.”
Markey said GM sent letters to the owners on Thursday telling them the vehicles are safe to drive, but they should not be parked in garages, carports or other structures until the problem is repaired.