Computer Industry Fraud

A Fortune 250 computer company retained Getnick & Getnick to investigate trafficking in stolen mainframe computers and computer parts, a project that The New York Timesdescribed in 1996 as “a real life ‘Mission: Impossible’ in the heart of Silicon Valley.” “Silicon Valley Whodunit Case Is Effort to End Industry Scams,” June 27, 1996.

This case represented a model of teamwork between business and government, with attorneys, investigators, forensic accountants, and the client company working together with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Attorneys Office. Eventually, an elaborate scheme was unraveled through which millions of dollars worth of stolen equipment was sold to witting and unwitting buyers throughout the United States and overseas.

Civil RICO litigation initiated by Getnick & Getnick in the mid 1990s resulted in a swift settlement against the defendants including financial recovery, cooperation in ongoing civil and criminal proceedings, dissolution of the offending company, and a lifetime bar from employment in the computer and its related industries. The United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of California, prosecuted a criminal RICO indictment against the principal defendants, three of whom pled guilty.