CALIFORNIA SENTENCING MADE IN COMPUTER THEFT PLOT Inside Bay Area - Daily Review Online - Local NewsGuilty plea, sentencing in computer theft plot
Money laundered after sales of stolen equipment worth millions
By Josh Richman, STAFF WRITER



A Fremont man pleaded guilty and a Hillsborough man was sentenced to federal prison Monday in a conspiracy to launder money made by selling stolen computer equipment, federal prosecutors said. Travis Toole, 32, of Fremont pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering before U.S. District Judge James Ware of San Jose.

In his plea agreement, he admitted conspiring in mid- to late-2003 to launder money from sales of stolen Cisco and Sun Microsystems servers, routers and other computer components that were shipped across state lines. He admitted the value of the stolen equipment during his participation was about $1.5 million, and the proceeds amounted to about $555,000.

Toole is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 13. The maximum penalty for his crime is 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to twice the value of the property involved in the crime.

Also Monday, Yan Ebyam, 28, of Hillsborough was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison. He had pleaded guilty earlier to conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, admitting he'd bought computer equipment valued at more than $6 million as part of the scheme.