http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/legal/article2717269.ece By Jonathan Brown 28 June 2007 The ex-husband of Tamara Mellon, the founder of the Jimmy Choo shoe empire, has been cleared of conspiring to hack into his estranged wife's computer during their divorce battle. The American oil and banking heir Matthew Mellon, 43, had denied hiring a crooked private detective agency to illicitly delve into her financial affairs, claiming he was not intelligent enough to hatch such a plan. Having elected not to give evidence in his defence, his barrister Nicholas Purnell QC told Southwark Crown Court in London that his client had been "duped and gulled" after paying the City-based Active Investigation Services (AIS) £12,000 for what he believed to be legitimate services. Speaking outside court after the two-month trial, the former cocaine addict said: "I am relieved it is all over." The jury had heard evidence from the billionaire's former wife that he was a lovable if incompetent spouse. She said he "missed planes like other people missed buses", never had a job, could not manage bills and bank accounts, and could not cope with a comic let alone a book. She said that he was so absent-minded she would not leave him alone in charge of their young daughter. He was "like a child" who needed a "nanny" to cope with life, she said. The jury returned a unanimous not guilty verdict on the single count of unlawfully conspiring to cause unauthorised modification of computer material. It was the last of 16 verdicts to be delivered against him and four other men. A former police officer, Scott Gelsthorpe, 32, from Kettering, Northamptonshire, who helped to run AIS, was convicted of two conspiracy counts involving the unauthorised modification charge, and one of conspiring to unlawfully intercept computer material. His associate, David Carroll, 58, of Highgate, north London, was found guilty of six conspiracy counts - three involving interception and the others involving modification. They will be sentenced in the autumn. Two men - Carroll's computer expert son Daniel, 36, from Westminster, central London, and Maurice Kennedy, 58, of Barnet, north London - were cleared. Mr Mellon had been married to Tamara Mellon, 38, for four years when the relationship foundered. When divorce proceedings began, Mr Mellon's solicitors unsuccessfully sought the disclosure of the financial state of her company. The court heard that AIS was then brought in. It hired an American computer expert, Marc Carron, who mounted a hi-tech cyber-assault on Mrs Mellon's London headquarters, sending three emails. One of the so-called "tempters" was signed "A Friend" and claimed to offer "things on your soon-to-be ex-husband". The author claimed to attach some photos of Mr Mellon and his assistant before sending a second email declaring: "See what that bastard is trying to do to you." Mrs Mellon, who became suspicious because of the emails' "sleazy" nature, decided not to open them. Her IT chief investigated and found that they were laden with viruses. Increasingly frustrated, the computer expert manufactured two more emails to conceal his lack of success and justify his fee. Jurors heard that they gave the impression that Mrs Mellon was "being less than frank about her financial disclosures". One "appeared to suggest that money had been sent by Mrs Mellon offshore" and that she was "hiding her assets". The other gave the impression that she was thinking of selling her company, which, as it turned out, she eventually did. _____________________________________________________ Attend Black Hat USA, July 28-August 2 in Las Vegas, the world's premier technical event for ICT security experts. Featuring 30 hands-on training courses and 90 Briefings presentations with lots of new content and new tools. Network with 4,000 delegates from 70 nations. Visit product displays by 30 top sponsors in a relaxed setting. Rates increase on June 1 so register today. http://www.blackhat.com
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