Emily M. Sweeney, United States Attorney for the Northern District of
Ohio, announced that on Friday, September 14, 2001, Melissa S. Brown,
age 30, of 115 Tilden Avenue, Chardon, pleaded guilty in U.S. District
Court in Akron, Ohio, to a one count indictment charging her with computer
fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1030(a)(5)(A).
On July 6, 2001, a federal grand jury in Cleveland, Ohio, returned a one
count indictment charging Brown, with computer fraud in violation of Title
18, United States Code, Section 1030(a)(5)(A). The indictment charged
that on or about April 14, 2001, Brown knowingly caused the transmission
of a program, information, code or command, and as a result of such conduct,
intentionally caused damage, without authorization, to a protected computer
server owned and/or operated by Christian & Timbers, 25825 Science
Park Drive, Beachwood, Ohio.
According to Court documents filed in U.S. District Court, Brown admitted
that between the hours of 4:04 a.m. and 5:09 a.m. on April 14, 2001, she
remotely logged onto the computer system of her employer, Christian &
Timbers, an executive recruitment firm located in Beachwood, Ohio, from
a company laptop computer located at her residence in Chardon, Ohio. During
the session, Brown logged onto the companys computer system using
the user ID and password of a co-worker, without the knowledge or authorization
of the co-worker, and transmitted certain computer codes, instructions
and/or commands to change the password of the companys Chief Information
Officer who was on vacation at the time, thus preventing the CIO from
gaining log-on access to the company computer.
As a result of her actions, Brown admitted that she caused Christian &
Timbers to incur losses in excess of $5,000.00.
The maximum statutory penalty for a violation of Title 18, United States
Code, Section 1030(a)(5)(A) (computer fraud) is 5 years imprisonment,
a fine of up to $250,000, or both.
Brown will be sentenced in November 2001, by U.S. District Judge Dan A.
Polster following the completion of a presentence investigation report
by the U.S. Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert W. Kern,
following an investigation by the Cleveland Office of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation.
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