Showing posts with label lawsuit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lawsuit. Show all posts

Sunday, November 12, 2023

Professor Accused of Wiretapping Other Professors

LA - Officers of the University of Louisiana Monroe Police Department initiated an investigation due to a wiretapping complaint on campus. During the investigation, authorities learned that a professor for the University of Louisiana Monroe, along with his graduate assistant, located two small recording devices around their office doors.

According to the affidavit, the devices were being held in place by a substance. The ULM professor was in his office when one of the devices fell on the floor. The second device was found after the graduate assistant searched the door area of the office.

ULM Police then stationed themselves and conducted surveillance, identifying the suspect as Chad Allen Lewing, who is also a professor at the university. On November 8, 2023, at 5:30 AM, Lewing was detained by authorities while allegedly attempting to remove the devices.

Police learned that Lewing arrived at work two hours early and he was the only person in the building, besides two ULM police officers. Lewing was transported to the university’s police station and refused to talk with authorities...

Officers went on to find two more devices in the office spaces of two other ULM professors. more

This find was based on luck. Surveillance devices rarely just fall on the floor in front of you. Smart businesses and educational institutions hire technical information security consultants to periodically conduct searches for electronic surveillance devices. Learn more about that at counterespionage.com.

Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Poisonous Spouses — Spycams to the Rescue!

Man Jailed After Wife's Secret Camera Reveals He Was Poisoning Her Coffees...

A man in Macomb Township, Michigan, has been sentenced to 60 days in prison after his wife set up a camera to catch him poisoning her coffee.

Therese Kozlowski grew suspicious of her husband Brian Kozlowski - from whom she was going through a divorce - after she noticed she felt unwell whenever he made her a coffee.

She subsequently set up a secret camera in the kitchen which showed her husband was lacing her drink with what turned out to be an antihistamine.  more

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California Dermatologist Accused Of Trying To Poison Husband With Drano...

A California dermatologist has been accused of trying to poison her husband with Drano, with footage allegedly captured by a covert nanny cam.

Yue “Emily” Yu, 45, was arrested Thursday by Irvine Police after her husband told authorities earlier that day that he'd begun to suspect his wife was poisoning him when he started to feel sick over the course of a month-long period this summer, according a police statement obtained by Oxygen.com.

Yu’s husband, identified in court papers as radiologist Jack Chen, provided police with “video evidence supporting his suspicion.”

In a statement written to secure a restraining order against his wife, Chen described how he set up a secret nanny cam in the family’s kitchen after beginning to feel ill. more

Demise of a Corporate Spy

Shares of Pegasystems have dropped 65% since the start of the year and are unlikely to recover.

(Spoiler Alert... Appian Awarded $2.036 Billion in Damages Against Pegasystems Inc.) 

Appian, for investors who are unfamiliar, is a fellow SaaS vendor that competes in the business process management (BPM) space and also emphasizes low-code software. Appian sued and won a corporate espionage case against Pegasystems

In a nutshell, Pegasystems was found guilty of trade secret appropriation: it hired an employee of a government contractor to provide it with access to Appian software. This contractor then passed information (including video recordings of the Appian development environment) to Pegasystems employees. Pegasystems' CEO, Alan Trefler, was also found to have participated in meetings with this contractor present... Appian won a $2.036 billion judgment in its favor. more

Does your company have a Surreptitious Recording in the Workplace policy? If not, read Surreptitious Workplace Recording — and what to do about it.

Saturday, June 25, 2022

Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Wiretapping Charge

WV - A former Logan County resident was sentenced today to two years and three months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for prohibited interception of oral communications. Randall Dwight Holden II, 33, was also ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Holden admitted to secretly recording a video of a woman engaged in sexually explicit conduct in her Logan County home on November 25, 2017. The video was later uploaded to the internet without the victim’s knowledge. The video was one of several secretly recorded videos that Holden had created and posted online depicting the victim. 

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the West Virginia State Police-Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). more

Sunday, May 15, 2022

Ex-Coca-Cola Chemist Sentenced for Stealing $120 Million Trade Secret

A Chinese chemical engineer was sentenced to 14 years in prison for stealing trade secrets on drink can coatings to establish a Chinese company backed by the Chinese government.

Xiaorong “Shannon” You, 59, was sentenced on Monday by a federal judge in Greeneville, Tennessee, on the charges of conspiracy to commit trade secret theft, conspiracy to commit economic espionage, possession of stolen trade secrets, economic espionage and wire fraud. In addition, she is ordered to pay a $200,000 fine and serve three years of supervised release.

“Stealing technology isn’t just a crime against a company,” Acting Assistant Director Bradley S. Benavides of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division said in a release. “It’s a crime against American workers whose jobs and livelihoods are impacted.” more

Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Caught on Camera: ‘Peeping Tom’ Seen Spying into Home

The New Orleans Police Department released footage of a man they suspect was caught on camera spying into a home window.

According to the report, the alleged ‘Peeping Tom’ was captured on video surveillance taking photographs/ and/or video of the inside of an occupied residence in the 3000 block of Robert Street with his cellular device.The video, which appears to be from a ‘Ring’ doorbell camera, is time-stamped at 11:19 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6.

The NOPD is seeking the public’s help in identifying the accused suspect. more

Saturday, February 12, 2022

School Principal Arrested - Facing Felony Eavesdropping Charge

The Lee County Virtual School Principal faces charges for illegally recording a meeting.

It is an unusual case of consent because Florida Statute 934.03 talks specifically about the interception and disclosure of wire, oral or electronic communications prohibited. “Florida is a two-party consent state,” said FGCU Professor Dr. David Thomas. Lee County Sheriff’s deputies arrested (him) for recording a meeting without permission. more

Sunday, November 1, 2020

Missing Wirecard Executive Could be Austrian Spy

German authorities say a missing Wirecard manager, who vanished just as the digital payments company collapsed, may be an informer for Austria’s intelligence agency.

Austrian-born Jan Marsalek, Wirecard’s former chief operating officer, disappeared without trace in June just as it emerged the company had inflated its balance sheet by at least €3 billion.

While the worldwide hunt continues for the fugitive 40 year-old executive, German prosecutors have told Bundestag MPs there is evidence that Mr Marsalek, who was in charge of all Wirecard operational business, was a source for Austria’s BVT intelligence agency. more

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Brit Accused of Spying on 772 People via Webcam...

... tells court he'd end his life if extradited to US.

'I've seen programmes on American prisons' says wife

A Briton is reportedly fighting extradition to the United States after deploying webcam malware onto hundreds of women's laptops so he could spy on them undressing and having sex.

Christopher Taylor, a 57-year-old labourer, appeared by video link at Westminster Magistrates' Court to contest an extradition attempt by the US government, according to the Court News UK newswire.

Taylor told District Judge Michael Fanning that both he and his wife would kill themselves if he was forcibly removed to the US...

A US grand jury in the state of Georgia indicted Taylor, of Vicarage Road, Wigan, with computer fraud and wire fraud charges in January last year, the court was told. The Briton is accused of spying on 772 victims from 39 different countries after tricking them into installing CCTV camera management software called Cammy. more

Friday, September 25, 2020

Ventitillation

NJ - Additional charges have been filed against an HVAC technician from West Deptford for allegedly spying on students in a school bathroom. Gregory Mahley is now facing 20 additional counts for spying on students at Cape May County Technical High School in 2013 and 2014.

Earlier this month, Mahley was charged for secretly recording girls in the bathroom at Glen Landing Middle School in Gloucester County.

Mahley allegedly positioned mirrors in stalls to create a view from an overhead air conditioning vent. more

Saturday, September 12, 2020

Judge Rules for Plaintiffs Spy Camera Case

PA - Two State College-area residents have won part of their federal suit against a Massachusetts man accused of placing spy cameras in the apartment they shared...

Crust, Edelstein and Knutrud, all former Penn State students, knew each other for about two years before August 2017 when they began sharing an apartment on West Aaron Drive in Ferguson Twp.

As a Christmas gift that year, Knutrud gave them a DVD player that he installed at the foot of their bed.


Edelstein became suspicious because Knutrud would take the player to his upstairs bedroom at times.

Crust and she disconnected it but they claim Knutrud plugged it back in and aimed it at their bed.

They also accused him of installing devices capable of capturing and storing audio, video and still images throughout the apartment including the bathroom.

Brann’s opinion states Knutrud captured Crust and Edelstein in various state of undress and while engaging in sex acts.

He also is accused of accessing and storing 27 nude or partially nude photograph of her she had stored on her Apple iCloud account.

(And now, The Darwin Award) The recording equipment on one occasion captured Knutrud in the bedroom sniffing Edelstein’s undergarments, Brann noted. more

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Spycam News: X-Youth Basketball Coach Sentenced to 20 Years

 PA - In June 2016, James Hardcastle, 42, transported three minor boys, ages 15, 16 and 16, as their coach to Wildwood, New Jersey to participate in a basketball tournament, and shared a motel room with them in which there was no shower curtain.  

The defendant installed a USB drive containing a hidden camera in a power outlet in the bathroom and surreptitiously filmed each of the minors taking showers.  

Previously, in June and July 2015, the defendant also attempted to videotape two minors in a bathroom using a hidden camera while the minors were visiting his home in Bensalem. more

The camera looked something like this...

These spy cameras come in all different shapes, sizes and disguise enclosures. Learning how to spot them is easy, and may save you or someone you care about from being a victim. more

Thursday, August 6, 2020

Recent Spycam News

FL - A Bradenton man was arrested July 24 for shooting video of a girl undressing in a beach changing station. more & more

FL - Justin Stueve is accused of rape and video voyeurism of his then-wife, who said she found a thumb drive full of explicit photos of herself. A judge has ruled that defense attorneys will be allowed to review photos allegedly taken by their client of his ex-wife while she was unconscious. more 

Japan - Police in Tokyo have arrested a 34-year-old man and his 35-year-old common-law wife on suspicion of extortion after they threatened a man that they would report him to police for taking upskirt videos of the woman unless he paid them money...The man agreed to pay 1.1 million yen in return for not being reported to the police. more

WA - Former Arlington Christian teacher charged with voyeurism. more

UT - Deputies arrest 26-year-old for suspected voyeurism after parents find him on roof. more

WA - Outlook man charged with voyeurism of 15-year-old girl. more

LA - A Bossier Parish school teacher...at Benton Elementary School faces 30 new charges...(including) 10 counts of video voyeurism. more

UK - Firm pursues damage claims for victims of disgraced doctor...Given the large number of images taken it is possible many women who saw Dr Altaii were covertly filmed yet remain unaware of that fact even today. more

S. Korea - South Korean singer A investigated for illegally filming women...A is suspected of secretly filming the bodies of several women, including sex scenes, using hidden cameras until early this year...South Korea is notorious for illegal filming crimes also known as molka crimes. more
(BTW - Spycam Detection Training now has Korean sub-titles.)

Canada - A suspended Mountie charged with sex crimes by two different police services across the country is alleged to have secretly filmed women 34 times inside the bathroom of his south Ottawa apartment, during sex and in hotel rooms. more

FL - Robert Privette, 49, was staying at the DoubleTree resort in Key West when he is alleged to have heard two women in the room next door returning from the beach. Privette is then said to have managed to slide a tiny spy camera surreptitiously under the door of the room in order to film the pair, aged 24 and 27, as they undressed after a day on the sands. more

AR - A 41-year-old man accused of secretly videotaping a female teenager with a hidden camera in a Bluetooth speaker is facing video voyeurism and child pornography charges. more

India - A man arrested for voyeurism jumped into the sea while being taken to the beach by the police to collect evidence on Wednesday. His hands were cuffed. His body is yet to be found. more

UK - A former presenter of BBC News...who has shifted his career from being a British TV news personality to evangelical preaching, said most of these offences were committed with children during the past 30 years...He also admitted to two counts of making explicit videos of children... more

UK - A man has admitted using a hidden camera to film people using the toilet in Bristol...Prosecutor May Li said Andrews was discovered when one of the victims noticed a green light above a doorway and saw it was a hidden camera. When she looked at what was in the memory card, she saw Andrews’ face in the footage. (Darwin Award) more

You too can find hidden spy cameras. more

Monday, August 3, 2020

Staffing Firm Alleges Corporate Espionage by Former Employees

NY - Two Southern Tier staffing agencies are locked in a bitter dispute alleging corporate espionage, payroll sabotage, the breaching of non-compete and non-disclosure agreements, and the hijacking of a company Facebook page.

In a 54-page filing with the Federal District Court in Northern District earlier this month, Adecco accuses the upstart Staffworks of raiding its Corning, Elmira, Utica and Syracuse staff to steal proprietary account information and using it to steal long-established business...
  • Former employees commandeered a Adecco Corning office Facebook page for their own use, renaming it and taking control of posts.
  • A former Adecco employee broke into locked office filing cabinets, drilling through locks, "to remove colleague personnel files and other Adecco documents containing confidential information." The employee contends she was only trying to obtain personal items from the locked cabinet.
  • Proprietary pricing information and profit margin details was emailed from internal email accounts to personnel accounts before Adecco cut off access.
  • Those named in the suit refused to return company laptops and mobile devices with critical and confidential client and company details.
  • In their last weeks of employment , three defendants sabotaged client relationships by failing to enter information into a payroll system, later using the foul-up as evidence that Adecco was "going downhill," in an attempt to land new clients. more
Note to Adecco: Time for a thorough TSCM inspection. (search for eavesdropping devices)

Tuesday, July 7, 2020

After B&E for Bugging Home Inmate Charged Again

NY - A Gansevoort inmate was arrested Friday following an altercation at the Saratoga County Jail.

Todd D. Derush, 39, of Wilton-Gansevoort Road, was charged with felony second-degree assault.

He was arrested on Jan. 30 for allegedly illegally entering an acquaintance’s home and hiding equipment to record conversations. The victim had an order of protection against him. He was charged with felony second-degree burglary, first-degree criminal contempt, eavesdropping, unlawful surveillance and misdemeanor possession of eavesdropping devices. more

Monday, July 6, 2020

US Court Rules Facebook Widgets can be Considered Wiretaps

After a nine-year-long legal battle, a federal appeals court has ruled that Facebook’s practice of collecting data through its widgets could be considered a violation of anti-wiretapping laws.

The social media firm has long defended its actions by quoting the part of the federal Wiretap Act that defines wiretapping as interception of communications. According to a Gizmodo report, in Facebook’s logic, gathering user data isn’t the same as wiretapping without that active interception.

However, a panel of judges on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in the US has dismissed this technicality as it was found that the Facebook widget was collecting information from people who didn’t click on it. Such actions, they ruled, count as interception. more

Friday, June 26, 2020

Former Police Officer Accused of Spying on Neighbors

MO - A man told police he found a mini video recorder on an outside window ledge of his St. Charles County home... The camera allegedly was pointed into a closet and bathroom inside his home.

When St. Charles County police analyzed the camera and SD card, they found multiple clips showing the man and his wife, both clothed and nude, inside of their home...

According to court documents, more recordings led authorities to believe the camera was resting on John Zlatic’s back porch at one point in time. When police attempted to talk Zlatic, the suspect did not answer his doorbell...

Officers were able to get DNA profiles from a plastic clamp that was used to prop the camera on the window ledge. They then used Zlatic’s former police uniform, which had been given back to the department upon his resignation, to confirm the DNA on the clamp was his, court documents state. more 
Learn how to detect spycams.

Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Bugged Office with Concealed Cameras by Persons Unknown

Australia - The Labor MP whose office was the scene of an elaborate 60 Minutes surveillance operation that brought down three Victorian Ministers has briefly surfaced to reveal he is co-operating with authorities.

In a stunning political sting that was conducted over months, veteran MP Anthony Byrne’s office was rigged up with broadcast quality concealed cameras by persons unknown.

The factional powerbroker Adem Somyurek was then led into a bugged office, an invitation the sacked minister now regards as an elaborate trap. more

Learn how to detect concealed cameras.

An Eavesdropping Story with a Ring to it...

Australia - Heavily-tattooed Jacob Nyrhinen has admitted to assaulting his ex-girlfriend after he eavesdropped on her conversations via a secret video doorbell, and concluded she was seeing another man. more

Monday, June 15, 2020

Industrial Espionage Case: U.S. Company Awarded $3.36 Million

United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), Taiwan's second largest pure wafer foundry operator, has been ordered to pay a fine of NT$100 million (US$3.36 million) by a district court in Taichung City which found the company and three of its employees guilty in a trade secret theft case brought by U.S.-based memory chipmaker Micron Technology Inc...

Prosecutors launched a probe into the alleged industrial espionage in February 2017 and decided to charge UMC and the three UMC employees in September, citing violation of Taiwan's Trade Secrets Act for sharing the information with Jinhua. more