A federal grand jury indicted a Pennsylvania
man with five counts of mail fraud for allegedly obtaining SonicWall security
appliances through a warranty scam and attempting to sell them on eBay.
Thomas J. Kline, 66, of Mount Pleasant,
Pa., was formally indicted June 24.
According to federal authorities, Kline registered hundreds of serial numbers
to SonicWall devices he didn’t own and then made tech support and warranty
claims against them. Under SonicWall’s policy, it ships new devices to the
customer to prevent a lapse in security.
Under normal circumstances, a customer making a maintenance or warranty
claim for a defective or troublesome device would return the equipment
following receipt of the replacement hardware. Kline, however, reportedly tried
to sell his new SonicWall equipment on eBay.
Kline allegedly conducted his scheme against SonicWall over a four-year
period, January 2005 to January 2009. The indictment gives no indication where
he obtained the serial numbers he registered with SonicWall, how many devices
were obtained and whether he was able to sell any devices on eBay.
If convicted, Kline could face 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000,
plus potential restitution costs to SonicWall.
