United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

NEW YORK MAN WHO ILLEGALLY ACCESSED COMPUTER SYSTEMS IS SENTENCED

Nora R. Dannehy, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that RICHARD J. BERGER, 56, of New York, New York, was sentenced yesterday, June 15, by United States District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 13 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegally accessing a computer server.  Additionally, BERGER was ordered to pay restitution to his victims in the amount of $129,266. BERGER pleaded guilty to the offense on March 24, 2009.

According to documents filed with the Court and statements made in court, from approximately April 2007 to September 2007, using social security account numbers, birth dates, and contract numbers for customers of SunLife and The Hartford , BERGER accessed, or instructed his secretary to access, approximately 1292 customer annuity investment account statements over the Internet.  Per BERGER’s instructions, the secretary obtained and printed the account summary sheets from Sunlife and The Hartford, which detailed the customer name and address, as well as account composition and balance.  The secretary then provided the account statements and telephone numbers to BERGER, who contacted the individuals in an attempt to have them transfer their annuity accounts to another company.  BERGER’s motivation for this was financial gain as he would earn a commission on the annuity amounts transferred.

The parties have agreed that BERGER’s personal monetary gain from 12 accounts that were transferred from The Hartford and SunLife to an insurance carrier from whom BERGER earned commissions totaled $32,422. However, the Government submitted to the Court that The Hartford and Sun Life were entitled to $118,174 and $11,092, respectfully, in restitution.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Senior Litigation Counsel Christopher W. Schmeisser.

CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov