http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-segal20.html BY STEVE WARMBIR AND TIM NOVAK Staff Reporters April 20, 2004 In an unusual move, the firm of indicted insurance czar Michael Segal is offering a $10,000 reward on a Web site for more information about a former employee who the firm accuses of hacking into company computers and sharing files with competitors and government informants. Jury selection began Monday in Segal's criminal trial, but a Segal spokeswoman, Kitty Kurth, said the Web site had nothing to do with the criminal case. Rather, it's related to a civil lawsuit Segal has filed against former employees, including the alleged hacker, David Cheley, whom Segal accuses of conspiring to destroy his company, Near North Insurance Brokerage. Segal is accused of siphoning more than $20 million from a key firm account and spending the money on personal and business expenditures. Segal has brought up the alleged hacking and sharing of e-mails with government informants in his criminal case. However, the federal judge overseeing his criminal case would not grant a hearing to Segal on the matter. The site, hackingreward.com [1], had been up for a few weeks, Kurth said. The name was registered on March 29 this year, records show. The reward was offered after federal authorities told Near North that Cheley would not be prosecuted for any alleged hacking, Kurth said. The site offers a $10,000 reward for new information about hacking into Near North's computer system. It prominently features a photograph of Cheley, 33, of Chicago. It also lists a former home address of Cheley, pages from his Web site that listed his qualifications as a computer programmer, as well as former employers. "Boy, oh, boy," Cheley said as he looked at the Web site for the first time Monday. "Wow," he said later. "These people are something else." Cheley, who denies hacking into the Near North system, said the litigation has destroyed him and sapped his savings. He said he feels like a scapegoat in the matter. "I'm not part of any conspiracy," Cheley said. "These guys have pretty much finished me." [1] http://www.hackingreward.com/ _________________________________________ ISN mailing list Sponsored by: OSVDB.org
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