Florida Man, associates, indicted for conspiracy to steal data, software – Source: go.theregister.com

Authorities in the US state of Georgia have indicted a famous Floridian and his loyal associates on counts including theft of data, software, and personal information.

The celebrity defendant, a 77-year-old whose career has spanned real estate development, reality television, wagering, and a four-year term as president of the United States, was one of 19 people named in a 91-page indictment that lists 41 counts and details a “a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election.”

The election was contested, and lost, by the aforementioned celebrity defendant, who at the time was seeking a second term as president.

The indictment details a sprawling effort to overturn the result of the election with actions alleged to include “false statements and writings, impersonating a public officer, forgery, filing false documents, influencing witnesses, computer theft, computer trespass, computer invasion of privacy, conspiracy to defraud the state, acts involving theft, and perjury.”

That’s a lot. But as this is The Register, a technology publication, we’ll focus on the IT-related aspects of the indictment, which are covered by Count 7, titled “Unlawful Breach of Election Equipment in Georgia and Elsewhere” and described as follows:

The indictment alleges that some members of the conspiracy “conspired to use a computer with knowledge that such use was without authority and with the intention of taking and appropriating information, data, and software, the property of Dominion Voting Systems Corporation.”

Some of those indicted used computers “with the intention of examining personal data with knowledge that such examination was without authority.”

Others unlawfully accessed data on a server.

The indictment characterizes those actions as an “unlawful breach of election equipment.”

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The indictment names many associates of the Florida Man, including his lawyers, and former White House chief of staff.

The indictment is the Florida Man’s second recent tech-related tangle with the law, after he was accused of ordering deletion of video surveillance footage, not long after a flood at his residence – curiously, a hotel and country club complex – destroyed a server.

The indicted man is again seeking election as president of the United States and currently appears likely to secure the nomination of the Republican Party – which mentions “ensuring the integrity of our elections” as part of its platform.

The real estate developer and bankruptcy law aficionado has labelled the indictment a “legal double standard” and “fabricated accusations.” ®