News
Man Sentenced Over Computer Attacks
A 19-year-old Michigan man who ran an Internet business selling retro sports
jerseys was sentenced Friday to 30 months in federal prison for recruiting a
New Jersey teen to carry out computer attacks against competitors.
Jason Salah Arabo was also ordered to pay $504,495 to his victims, which included
operators of competing Web sites as well as an Internet hosting company.
Arabo, of Southfield, Mich., pleaded guilty in April to a federal conspiracy
charge.
He acknowledged that in 2004 he ran Web-based companies http://www.customleader.com
and http://www.jerseydomain.com . Arabo said he used online instant message
conversations to recruit Jasmine Singh of Edison, N.J., who was 16 at the time,
to electronically bombard other throwback jersey Web sites -- including New Jersey-based
http://www.jersey-joe.com .
Throwback jerseys are styled after classic team sports attire and are sought
after by fans and the fashion-conscious.
In July of 2004, Singh carried out attacks aimed at computer servers supporting
the competitor Web sites, disabling the sites.
Prosecutors said Arabo gave Singh some historical sports jerseys and pricey
sneakers as payment.
Singh's attacks stopped six months later when FBI agents and state police investigators
searched his home and seized his computer.
Singh pleaded guilty in August 2005 as an adult in state Superior Court to
two counts of computer theft. He was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered
to pay $35,000 in restitution.