Minecode CEO, programmer plead guilty to computer intrusion |
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Minecode CEO, programmer plead guilty to computer intrusion
The CEO and a programmer at Minecode LLC, a Bellevue web development company, have pleaded guilty to computer intrusion and face possible prison time and fines.
Company CEO and President Pradyumna Samal faces up to two years in prison and project manager Sandeep Verma faces up to one year in prison in the case, which arose out of a dispute with a customer, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for Western Washington:
According to records filed in the case, in the summer of 2006, an e-commerce wine supplier Vinado, Inc., hired Minecode, LLC to design some features for its website including a 'virtual gift shop.' In the fall of 2006, a contract dispute developed between the two companies. In December 2006, at the direction of President and CEO SAMAL, the Project Manager VERMA went into the Vinado website and disabled the 'virtual gift shop' function by removing two programs. This resulted in a loss to Vinado of more than $5,000. Vinado was able to restore the programs a few days later. On January 30, 2007, CEO SAMAL caused commands to be transmitted to Vinado’s website that resulted in the deletion of Vinado’s website, e-mail server and database in its entirety. The damage to Vinado was at least $115,000.
The company Minecode has agreed to pay restitution to Vinado of at least $120,000, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Minecode faces an additional fine of up to $240,000, and Samal and Verma face fines of up to $100,000. Sentencing in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Alice Theiler is scheduled for April 8.
Samal's bio on the Minecode website says he "spent over 13 years in product development, process management and emerging technology at Microsoft Corporation, Zones Inc. and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)." The Minecode website says the company was founded in 2001, employs more than 500 worldwide, and is "consistently profitable."
A call to the Minecode office in Bellevue wasn't immediately returned.
Update: I just spoke to someone at Minecode, who talked about "changes underway" at the company and indicated Minecode may have something to say as early as Monday. A major question is the fate of the company's 500-plus employees and its India operations. See my post here for the latest details.
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