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Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Courts - "Indianapolis man 1st to be prosecuted under federal computer-extortion law"
Tom Spalding reports in the Indianapolis Star:
A 28-year-old Indianapolis man was sentenced today to two years in state prison for trying to extort $208,00 from an insurance company after stealing a computer server.Kevin M. Stewart was the first to be prosecuted under a law that makes it a crime to commit extortion with material from a protected computer system. U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Evans Barker issued the sentence in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis.
In March 2006, Stewart burglarized the Indianapolis office of AIG Medical Excess, threatening to release clients' personal data on the Internet. The server contained the names of more than 900,000 insured persons, as well as their personal identifying information, and confidential medical information and e-mail communications. At the time of the burglary, Stewart was an employee of a private security firm that provided security services to the insurance company.
On July 23, 2008, Stewart delivered a package to the insurance company. The package included a letter stating that he possessed the stolen server and its confidential data. He asked for $1,000 a week for four years, but the FBI and others intervened. The Indiana State Police, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, and Attorney General also were part of the investigation.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 13, 2010 09:52 AM
Posted to Ind Fed D.Ct. Decisions