The attorneys of Pietragallo’s White Collar Criminal Defense practice group are experienced in all aspects of white collar criminal defense matters and investigations.
On Thursday, federal prosecutors in Manhattan unsealed an indictment charging Lauri Love, an alleged hacker and United Kingdom citizen, with hacking and aggravated identity theft. The charges stem from allegations that, in October 2012, Love illegally accessed the Federal Reserve’s computers systems, including the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. After Love hacked into the servers, he located confidential information, including names, email addresses, and telephone numbers of users of the Federal Reserve computer system, and disseminated that information in a chat room on a website available to the public.
The indictment details how Love and fellow hackers searched the internet for servers running a particular program with a vulnerability that would allow them to gain illegal access. They learned that the Federal Reserve servers used the program which ultimately served as the vehicle for Love’s access to the Federal Reserve’s confidential information. The indictment also claims that Love, using an alias, admitted in a chat room to the hacking of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and disclosed his ability to hack into the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
Love now faces one count of computer hacking, carrying a maximum of 10 years in prison, and one count of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years. The indictment can be found here.
Yesterday, developer David R. Dodd II was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Sylvia H. Rambo to 87 months in federal prison for orchestrating a massive fraud scheme involving federal funds and laundered money. The scheme involved fraudulent real estate and business deals associated with the Capitol View Commerce Center (“CVCC”), an unsuccessful construction project in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Prosecutors alleged that Dodd used his business, Industrial Design and Construction Inc. (“IDC”), to purchase building materials in the construction for the CVCC project. He concealed his personal interest in IDC which violated federal conflict of interest requirements and, as a result of that concealment, illegally obtained over one million dollars of funds from HUD through programs administered by the City of Harrisburg and Dauphin County. Dodd then directed the funds to be transferred into a brokerage account in an effort to conceal his ownership of the misappropriated funds.
In addition to the prison sentence, Dodd was ordered to pay restitution of approximately $21 million to the City of Harrisburg, Dauphin County, lenders, suppliers, and subcontractors involved in the CVCC project. The impact on the City of Harrisburg and Dauphin County alone was significant involving over $3.8 million and $2.7 million, respectively. As part of the plea agreement, Dodd agreed to forfeit $1.15 million in brokerage accounts, a BMW X-5, a Mercedes Benz sedan, and over $50,000 in cash. Prosecutors initially requested a nine-year prison sentence but reduced their request after Dodd agreed not to appeal Judge Rambo’s $21 million restitution order.
The scheme came to light during a probe that began in early 2008 after unpaid contractors refused to perform further work on the project. It was then revealed that, although Dodd received the funds to pay the contractors, he retained the money and did not pay them as he was obligated to do.
The attorneys of Pietragallo’s White Collar Criminal Defense practice are experienced in every aspect of a white collar criminal defense matters and investigations.
