Brockton Man Faces Prison Time In Stolen High Tech Equipment Scheme

The BrocktonPost
BOSTON--Today federal investigators charged two men--including one from Brockton--for allegedly participating in schemes to sell over the Internet more than $1 million worth of high-tech equipment stolen from EMC Corporation.
Mark Rothfuss, 47, of Brockton, Kevin Kelly, 33, of North Carolina,and BL Trading, LLC, of Hanover were charged in three related cases with wire fraud and selling, receiving, or transporting stolen property in interstate commerce, U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz's office announced today.
Kelly was also charged with aggravated identity theft.
The charges against Rothfuss allege he worked at EMC’s service call centers in Newton and Waltham, Massachusetts.
It is alleged between 2007 through 2009, Rothfuss stole approximately $140,654 worth of EMC equipment in a number of ways, including by requesting more equipment for repairs than he actually needed.
Rothfuss faces up to 30 years of imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, restitution and forfeiture.
The charges against Kelly allege he worked in the North Carolina factory of EMC Corporation, a large manufacturer of computer equipment headquartered in Massachusetts.
From 2000 through 2009, the charges allege Kelly stole approximately $929,891 worth of equipment from the factory by concealing EMC equipment in a small duffle or gym bag as he left work.
The charges also allege Kelly sold the stolen equipment over the Internet using the identity of an associate without the associate’s knowledge. The use of the Internet to fence stolen goods has come to be known as "e-fencing."
If convicted on these charges, Kelly faces up to 32 years of imprisonment, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, restitution and forfeiture; Kelly and Rothfuss also face fines of up to $250,000 or twice the gain or loss, whichever is highest, per count. BL Trading faces restitution and a fine of $500,000 or twice the gain or loss, whichever is highest, per count.
The charges against BL Trading, LLC, allege that the Hanover, Mass., company bought most of Kelly’s stolen equipment and that a former BL Trading employee who had primary responsibility for purchasing equipment for its resale business knew or was willfully blind to the fact that Kelly’s equipment was stolen.
Investigators also alleges BL Trading lawfully used software obtained from EMC to update EMC computer equipment that it was supposed to use only for its EMC-authorized business, but instead used it to update EMC computer equipment for its separate resale business.
In a deferred prosecution agreement with BL Trading, the United States agreed to dismiss the charges after two years if the company cooperates with law enforcement officials, pays restitution, and adheres to a strict corporate compliance program designed to ensure that it does not purchase or sell stolen equipment and does not update used equipment without the manufacturer’s agreement.
This federal corporate compliance program is one of the first of its kind in the country for a computer reseller.
"Congress and the public have become increasingly concerned with the ease by which people can unlawfully obtain items and sell them over the Internet under false or assumed identities," said U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Carmen M. Ortiz in a prepared statement.
"If accepted by the Court, the compliance program announced today will provide a model for online equipment resellers to ensure that their vendors are legitimate."
Federal authorities have filed separate plea agreements with Kelly and Rothfuss.
This investigation was conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Office of Homeland Security Investigations.