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TMCNet: Fired worker charged in ID theft, child porn

[June 06, 2009]

Fired worker charged in ID theft, child porn

Jun 06, 2009 (Houston Chronicle - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A former Gexa Energy employee has been indicted and faces charges of identity theft related to a breach of the electric retail company's customer database and possession of child pornography.

Steven Jinwoo Kim, 39, was arrested Thursday and released on $75,000 unsecured bond Friday after making an appearance before Magistrate Judge Calvin Botley. He is set for arraignment next week.

According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office, in April and May 2008 Kim illegally accessed a Gexa database that had customer and billing information and "issued codes and commands to damage" the database, leading to more than $70,000 in losses for the company.

He also allegedly transferred a database table with information on "thousands of Gexa Energy customers." Despite the breach investigators say they have not found any "exploitation of the GEXA customer's identities." Kim is also accused of having child pornography on his personal computer's hard drive.

Kim could not be reached for comment.

A conviction for computer intrusion or child pornography carries up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two-year sentence.

Gexa declined comment on the case but earlier this year sent letters out to customers telling them of the security breach. In the letter the company said it was prohibited from telling customers of the breach earlier because of the investigation.

tom.fowler@chron.com To see more of the Houston Chronicle, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.HoustonChronicle.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Houston Chronicle Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

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