|
|
| Sony Pictures targeted by inmate's con |
| By Reuters/ Hollywood Reporter |
| Published: 12/08/2003 |
|
In a scenario befitting one of its own heist scripts, Sony Pictures Entertainment recently found itself victimized by a New York prison inmate who assumed the identity of one of the studio's top executives and orchestrated a fraud worth nearly $1 million -- all from the comfort of his own jail cell. The criminal was subsequently caught, and on Nov. 17 at U.S. District Court in White Plains, N.Y., he was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud. The man behind the complex scheme was 27-year-old James Sabatino, who was already serving a 27-month sentence in a New York prison on a federal conviction of threatening federal prosecutors. Apparently, that sentence did not prevent Sabatino from spending an estimated eight hours a day on the phone, assuming the identity of top executives at major corporations and proceeding to purchase a variety of goods and services using fraudulent corporate identities and tax account information. Jack Kindberg, president of studio operations at Sony, was one of Sabatino's first targets. About 14 months ago, Kindberg received invoices for the purchase of 30 Nextel mobile phones that he never purchased. Puzzled by what had happened, Kindberg passed the invoices on to Steve Bernand, head of corporate security and safety at Sony. "Once we realized that somehow somebody had gotten hold of an authentic Sony account and tax ID number and that this person had basically tried to assume Jack's identity, I contacted the Secret Service in New York," said Bernand. The federal authorities launched a lengthy investigation with Bernand's help. Over the course of several months, the studio received various other fraudulent invoices for services ranging from rented hotel rooms to limousines in New York and Los Angeles -- all using the same stolen identity. The investigation also turned up a handful of other major corporations -- including Nextel and a leading car rental company -- which had been similarly victimized, according to Bernand. While Sabatino's scam rang up more than $900,000 worth of illicit activity, Bernand said that Sony was not damaged financially by the scheme because the studio caught on to it early. Bernand declined to discuss specifics but said he believed that some of the other companies were not as fortunate. When the lengthy investigation ultimately pointed to a man who was already behind bars, even a veteran security expert like Bernand was taken aback. Bernand commended Kindberg for catching the initial invoice glitch and applauded the work of the federal authorities in tracking down Sabatino. |
advertise
|
privacy policy
|
add URL
|
about us
|
terms/disclaimer
|
contact us
|
join our team
|
help
Comments:
No comments have been posted for this article.
Login to let us know what you think