(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Indicted a week before by a federal grand jury in Dallas, four North Texans have been arrested in Cancun, Mexico after feeing charges of cybercrime conspiracy, according to a report from the Dallas Morning News.
At the beginning of January, US attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas announced that the grand jury returned an indictment charging 19 defendants for conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud in a massive cybercrime conspiracy that lasted from March 2003 through to July 2009. According to the indictment, AT&T (www.att.com) and other telecom companies alleged that Faulkner and the companies hosted on his servers were evading web hosting and Voice over Internet Protocol services payments. Federal authorities also say the individuals charged used fake identification to procure goods and services.
The conspirators, according to allegations, made false representations to obtain resources such as computer racks, generators, and office space. To do so they created, purchased and used shell companies to hide the true identity of the owners or operators of the companies, or the relationships between the companies.
At the time of the indictment, Michael Faulkner and his wife, Chastity, who are said to be central figures in the fraud, were said to have fled the US to avoid prosecution. An unconfirmed, anonymous Internet report suggested that Michael Faulkner was killed attempting to reenter the US from Mexico.
The Dallas Morning News reported late last week that the Faulkners, along with alleged accomplices, Jason Watts, and William Watts, were arrested in Cancun. In addition to his wire and mail fraud charges, Michael Faulkner faces charges for obstruction of justice for threatening a witness or informant, hiding assets, and destruction of evidence. He also faces one count of false registration of a domain name.
If convicted, the conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Each of the obstruction charges carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If Faulkner is convicted on a felony and also on false registration of a domain name, the penalty for that felony conviction is doubled to a maximum of seven years.
