The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that on February 9, 2004, Van T. Dinh pled guilty to all counts of a criminal indictment that charged Dinh with securities fraud, wire fraud, and authorized computer access in furtherance of a fraud. Based on the charges to which Dinh pled, he faces a maximum of 16 months imprisonment and fines of up to $30,000 plus restitution. Dinh is scheduled to be sentenced on May 5, 2004.
In its complaint, also filed on October 9, 2003, the SEC alleged that Dinh had committed securities fraud by hacking into an investor's online brokerage account and purchasing, without the account holder's knowledge, soon-to-be worthless options held by Dinh. These bogus transactions saved Dinh approximately $37,000 in trading losses.
The criminal case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's offices for the District of Massachusetts. Additional information can be found in Litigation Release 18401.