Area51_FLG
11-27-2003, 10:06 PM
NOVEMBER 26, 2003 -A former Microsoft employee was sentenced to 17 months in prison yesterday for mail fraud. After her release from prison, Kori Brown, who pleaded guilty in July, will also have to serve three years of supervision for using her position at Microsoft to commit mail fraud, according to a statement (http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/waw/press_room/2003/nov_2003_pr_index.htm) by the Department of Justice.
According to John McKay, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington, between Oct. 13, 1998 and Aug. 4, 2000, Brown, an administrative assistant for X-Box at Microsoft, placed 17 orders for high-end business software, with a retail value of more than $6 million.
Software vendor ClientLogic Corp. then shipped the software either directly to Brown at Microsoft or to two entities falsely identified by Brown as charities. Brown then converted the software to her own use and sold it to a third party for between $50,000 and $100,000.
The U.S. attorney said Brown intended to deceive the people reviewing orders at ClientLogic into believing that the software was for Microsoft's business use or was intended to be distributed by Microsoft for charitable purposes.
Brown was one of three Microsoft employees charged in similar schemes.
Last year, Daniel Feussner, a midlevel Microsoft engineer who headed up one of Microsoft's .Net technology projects, was charged with stealing software valued at $9 million .(see story) (http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/legalissues/story/0,10801,76767,00.html) . Feussner died in February.
In June, Richard Gregg, formerly a project coordinator for Windows Development at Microsoft, was charged (http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/waw/press_room/2003/jun/gregg.htm) with stealing software valued at $17 million. Gregg pleaded not guilty. His trial is set to begin in January
According to John McKay, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington, between Oct. 13, 1998 and Aug. 4, 2000, Brown, an administrative assistant for X-Box at Microsoft, placed 17 orders for high-end business software, with a retail value of more than $6 million.
Software vendor ClientLogic Corp. then shipped the software either directly to Brown at Microsoft or to two entities falsely identified by Brown as charities. Brown then converted the software to her own use and sold it to a third party for between $50,000 and $100,000.
The U.S. attorney said Brown intended to deceive the people reviewing orders at ClientLogic into believing that the software was for Microsoft's business use or was intended to be distributed by Microsoft for charitable purposes.
Brown was one of three Microsoft employees charged in similar schemes.
Last year, Daniel Feussner, a midlevel Microsoft engineer who headed up one of Microsoft's .Net technology projects, was charged with stealing software valued at $9 million .(see story) (http://www.computerworld.com/governmenttopics/government/legalissues/story/0,10801,76767,00.html) . Feussner died in February.
In June, Richard Gregg, formerly a project coordinator for Windows Development at Microsoft, was charged (http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/waw/press_room/2003/jun/gregg.htm) with stealing software valued at $17 million. Gregg pleaded not guilty. His trial is set to begin in January