Legal Question in Technology Law in Massachusetts

Re: Criminal Charges/computer crime/fraud

Do not make any further statements until AFTER you speak with an attorney.

Your statements may be enough to convict you of both state and

federal crimes, and the penalty could be up to 10 years in federal

prison. You face a serious situation.

Whether you were paid anything has nothing to do with the

wrongfullness of the act. If they prove that you took it and then

provided it to a competitor, that would be enough.

If you used a different computer, get an attorney and get that

computer to that attorney. The government cannot seize the computer

from your attorney's office.

In Mass you can be charged with theft of computer services, and

theft of the list (it is property, just like a car).

In federal court, there are cyber crime statutes, and if the

information was a trade secret, theft of trade secrets (also in

state court).

You do not say where the two companies were located, if they are in different states, then any theft took place across state lines, and

the Feds can be involved. This is generally not a good thing for

defendants.

Your notion that you were not paid is not going to matter.

Tom