Computer crime to cost exec $27,000

Date: January 09, 2005
Source: NOLA.com
By: Mary Swerczek

A Luling man who was accused of digitally spying on his former company has been sentenced to home imprisonment and must pay $27,000 for breaking into the company's computer system, the U.S. attorney's office said.

David W. Avgikos, 42, was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Lance M. Africk to six months home detention with electronic monitoring and four years probation.

Avgikos also must pay Turbo Squid Inc. $17,000, the amount it cost the company to secure its computer system. After Avgikos pays the restitution, he also must pay a $10,000 fine.

He could not be reached for comment Friday.

Avgikos had been an owner of Turbo Squid, a company that sells three-dimensional images and software online, and left after he had differences with others at the company, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tony Gordon Sanders said.

While he was still at Turbo Squid, Avgikos created passwords to access the company's database and Turbo Squid's bank account maintained by Whitney National Bank, Sanders said.

As head of Digimation, a company that also sells 3-D images over the Internet, Avgikos accessed those databases to spy on his former company's movements and their finances, Sanders said.

The FBI began investigating after Turbo Squid found the security breech.

Avgikos was indicted by a federal grand jury and pleaded guilty Sept. 22 of last year.

Turbo Squid's CEO, Andy Wisdom, wouldn't comment Friday.

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Mary Swerczek can be reached at [email protected] or (985) 652-0959.

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