Military Contractor Guilty of Identity Theft
A former U.S. Navy contractor has been convicted of exceeding authorized access to a computer and aggravated identity theft the Department of Justice announced today.
Randall Craig, 41, of Houston, entered pleas of guilty to both counts of an indictment returned by a Houston grand jury on April 16, 2008, admitting he had sold information, including the names and social security numbers of military personnel contained on a military database to a person he believe to be a representative of a foreign government, but who was actually an undercover FBI agent.
Craig, who in September 2007 worked as a private computer contractor at the Marine Corps Reserve Center in San Antonio , Texas , had access to and obtained the names and social security numbers of United States Marines from a Marine Forces Reserve database, not accessible to or by the public. On Feb. 6, 2008 , Craig met with someone he believed to be a representative of a foreign government at the Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston to discuss the sale of a “thumb drive” containing the information Craig had obtained from the military data base. The foreign government representative was actually an undercover FBI Special Agent. Craig sold a “thumb drive” to the FBI undercover Agent for $500. The FBI undercover agent told Craig the data would be analyzed and he would contact Craig again soon.
A forensic examination conducted by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) determined the data, unclassified but designated for “Official Use Only,” contained on the thumb drive indicated the files were extracted from a U.S. government Information System located on a computer at the Marine Corps Reserve Center where Craig worked as a subcontractor. The database contained names and social security numbers of about 17,000 military personnel assigned to a Battalion of the United States Marine Corp (USMC) in San Antonio . Significantly, the investigation established that none of the information unlawfully obtained by Craig was either sold to others or otherwise compromised.
At a subsequent meeting with the FBI undercover agent at the Galleria Mall in Houston on Feb. 22, 2008 , Craig admitted he had made efforts to contact other foreign countries in an attempt to offer his services. The FBI undercover agent and Craig discussed future contact, using cell phones and e-mail. Following his arrest on April 18, 2008 , Craig confessed to selling the information from the database for $500 to the FBI undercover agent, a person he believed was a representative of a foreign government.
The conviction for exceeding authorized access to a computer for financial gain carries a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment. Aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two year-sentence that must be served consecutive to any sentence imposed for the exceeding authorized access count. Both counts also carry terms of supervised release to be served following release from prison and maximum fines of $250,000. A sentencing hearing has been set for July 28, 2008 , at 3:00 p.m. Craig is being held in federal custody without bond and will remain in custody pending his sentencing hearing.
