MINNESOTA COMPUTER THIEF SENTENCED St. Paul Pioneer Press 11/01/2006 Man sentenced in computer thefts: "Man sentenced in computer thefts

BRIEFING: EAU CLAIRE

A federal judge in Madison sentenced an Eau Claire man to 18 months in prison Tuesday for selling on eBay computers stolen from a hospital.

Stuart J. Kurschner, 38, was accused of taking about 200 computers from Luther Midelfort Hospital between October 2002 and March 2005. He was working in the hospital's computer and technology department at the time.

Kurschner pleaded guilty on Aug. 23 and will begin his prison sentence on Nov. 29.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Grant Johnson, investigators traced Kurschner's eBay records back to October 2002, determining that time as the beginning of the computer thefts. Kurschner sold the computers on eBay under the moniker 'Power Gear.'

The court ordered Kurschner to pay a $10,000 fine and $211,694.40 in restitution.

—Elizabeth Mohr"