15 June – LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California announced that Jonathan Henry Wiegman, 41, of Diamond Bar, California was arrested today on charges that he transmitted multiple threats over the Internet to injure employees of UTStarcom, Inc., a Bay Area supplier of network and telecommunications equipment. FBI agents arrested Mr. Wiegman without incident this morning at his residence in Diamond Bar, which is located near Los Angeles.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, Mr. Wiegman allegedly sent threatening e-mails to various employees of UTStarcom beginning in August 2004, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 875(c). In addition to the threatening e-mails, the affidavit also alleges that Mr. Wiegman posted numerous public messages of a threatening nature on the Yahoo! Finance Message Board pertaining to UTStarcom. The affidavit alleges that these e-mails and postings contained references to “death” and “bullits” [sic] and other threatening words, phrases and innuendos. According to the affidavit, Mr. Weigman, who was allegedly a shareholder of UTStarcom, sought to induce the recipients of these communications to release positive news about UTStarcom, thereby buoying the stock price. As a result of these e-mails and message board postings, the affidavit alleges that UTStarcom increased security measures at the company’s headquarters in Alameda, California, including hiring a security guard and undertaking an architectural remodel to limit access to the company’s back offices.
Mr. Wiegman is scheduled to make his initial appearance on the criminal complaint before United States Magistrate Judge Margaret A. Nagle in federal court in Los Angeles at 2:00 p.m. today for his initial appearance.
Mr. Wiegman faces a maximum statutory penalty of 5 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution if appropriate. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the Court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553. A criminal complaint only contains allegations against an individual and, as with all defendants, Mr. Wiegman must be presumed innocent unless and until convicted.
The prosecution is being overseen by the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) Unit of the United States Attorney’s Office and is the result of an investigation by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Kyle Waldinger is the Assistant United States Attorney prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release and related court filings may be found on the U.S. Attorney’s Office website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can . Related court documents and information may be found on the U.S. District Court website at www.cand.uscourts.gov or on .
All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney’s Office should be directed to Christopher P. Sonderby, Chief of the CHIP Unit, at (408) 535-5037, or Luke Macaulay at (415) 436-6757 or by email at Luke.Macaulay3@usdoj.gov .
