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2017 Crippys - The IP Criminals Hall of Fame
1/9/18
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act,
5-Hour Energy Drink,
Arms Export Control Act,
Beverly Berneman
Welcome to the Second Annual Crippys. The Crippys are awarded to those who achieved infamy by committing Intellectual Property crimes during the previous year. In other words, an IP Criminals Hall of Fame. The field of candidates was crowded last year. But the award winners rose to the top. The 2017 Crippys go to:
Second Runner Up Crippy Goes to David Nosel: David was an executive with Korn/Ferry International. After he left, his ex-assistant gave him a password with which he could access his former employer’s computer system. He used the password to hack into the system and steal trade secrets. David’s conviction for violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) was affirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The CFAA criminalizes accessing a computer without authorization or exceeding authorization to obtain anything of value from a protected computer. David argued that it wasn’t hacking because he had a valid password. Somehow, David missed the point. David didn’t have authorization to use the password. So his actions fell squarely within the prohibited acts in the CFFA.
First Runner Up Crippy Goes to Walid Jamil: Walid pled guilty to conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and conspiracy to introduce misbranded food into interstate commerce. A predecessor of Walid’s company, Midwest Wholesale Distributors, was a legitimate exporter of the 5-Hour Energy drink to Mexico. Jamil and his cohorts replaced the Spanish labels with fake English ones so they could sell to the U.S. market. When the stock ran out, Walid switched to fully counterfeit drinks made in a filthy factory. He distributed more than 4 million bottles putting the health of millions of customers into jeopardy. And if that weren’t enough, Walid is also alleged to have been involved in similar schemes involving Equal, Splenda, Truvia, Uncle Ben’s Rice and Pillsbury products. Walid has been sentenced to 7 years in jail plus payment of criminal restitution in the amount of $555,800.00. Walid wins this award for shear audacity and tenacity. He’ll need those skills in prison.
Grand Prize Crippy Goes to Gregory David Justice: Gregory (whose last name has a good sense of irony), a former employee of a defense contractor, pled guilty to one count of economic espionage and one count of attempting to violate the Arms Export Control Act. He tried to sell information about his (now former) employer’s satellite security systems which included trade secrets. Unfortunately for Gregory, he offered the sale to an undercover agent who was posing as a Russian spy. He told the ersatz Russian spy that he loved spy movies and television shows like “Jason Bourne” and “James Bond” and “The Americans”. He sold the secrets for $3,500.00 telling the undercover agent that he needed it for his wife’s medical expenses. Actually, he sent the money to his on-line girlfriend, an alleged European model named Chay. Actually, the “girlfriend” wasn’t named Chay nor was she a model. She was some woman who lived in Florida with her boyfriend and son. Gregory was sentenced to 60 months in jail. U.S. Attorney Sandra R. Brown said, “This defendant sold out his employer and betrayed his country in exchange for a few thousand dollars. His actions posed an imminent threat to our national security.”
WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS. Criminal Intellectual Property activity is no laughing matter. Those who criminally interfere with the Intellectual Property of others cause damage, endanger public health and harm national security. They justly face jail time and fines. So no one should strive to be awarded a Crippy for 2018.