Press Releases
LOCAL ATTORNEY JAMIE PERDIGAO DETAINED BY U.S. MAGISTRATE JUDGE
October 27, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JAMES (JAMIE) G. PERDIGAO, age 46, a resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, who was arrested on October 15, 2008 in a criminal complaint executed on October 16, 2008, charging him with intentional accessing a protected computer system without authorized access was ordered detained in federal custody by U. S. Magistrate Judge Louis Moore, Jr. today, announced by U.S. Attorney Jim Letten.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Louis Moore conducted a hearing to revoke the defendant’s bond relating to his pending indictment. After hearing the testimony of a FBI Special Agent as well as the Pre-trial Services Officer, Judge Moore decided to revoke the defendant’s $2 million bond and ordered that the defendant be held in the custody of the U. S. Marshal’s Service pending trial. Judge Moore cited the defendant’s recent arrest by the FBI as well as a February 27, 2008 arrest by the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office for shoplifting from Wal-Mart, previously unknown to the court, and approximately 400 instances where the defendant hacked into the computer network of the law firm of Adams and Reese as the basis for today’s ruling.
According to the criminal complaint filed last week, PERDIGAO, a former partner at the law firm of Adams and Reese, illegally and without authorized access intentionally intruded into the computer system of Adams and Reese on multiple occasions beginning on or about October 11, 2008 through on or about October 14, 2008. A search warrant was executed at the Metairie residence of his girlfriend where PERDIGAO was staying in which several computers were seized including two Applepower Books G3 computers belonging to Adams and Reese. FBI computer forensics determined that one of the computer seized pursuant to the execution of the search warrant produced evidence that confirmed the computer intrusion of the Adams and Reese computer system.
PERDIGAO was previously charged in a 59-count superseding indictment in 2007 by a federal grand jury for mail fraud, bank fraud, tax evasion, filing false tax returns, money laundering, and transportation of stolen funds, and is scheduled to go to trial on December 1, 2008.
If convicted on the new computer hacking charges, PERDIGAO faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five (5) years. The maximum penalties for the charges in the indictment, if convicted, PERDIGAO, faces a maximum term of 1018 years. He also faces substantial fines and criminal forfeiture including $30 million dollars money laundering forfeiture if convicted.
The case involving the computer crime and violations was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the case which was indicted by the federal grand jury was investigated by Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
U.S. Attorney Jim Letten reiterated that a criminal complaint and an indictment is merely a charged and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys James Mann, Salvador Perricone and Brian Klebba.
