U.S. Department of Justice Jeffrey A. Taylor U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia 555 4 th Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20530 PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For Information, Contact Public Affairs Channing Phillips (202) 514-6933 Friday, January 18, 2008 District man pleads guilty to conspiracy for his role in theft of computers from law firm --stolen computers later sold on eBay --

Washington, D.C. - A 40-year-old District of Columbia man, Stephen Richardson, has pled guilty to a conspiracy charge for his role in stealing computers from a downtown law firm, U.S. Attorney Jeffrey A. Taylor announced today.

Richardson, of the 800 block of Oglethorpe Street, NE, Washington, D.C., entered his plea of guilty earlier today in U.S. District Court before the Honorable Richard J. Leon in connection with the theft and interstate sales of computers and computer equipment stolen from the law firm of Wiley Rein & Fielding (since renamed “Wiley Rein”), 1750 K Street, NW, Washington, D.C. The guilty plea follows Richardson’s Indictment and that of a co-defendant for Conspiracy, Interstate Transportation of Stolen Goods, and Theft. Richardson faces a statutory sentence of up to 5 years in jail and a fine of $250,000. Under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, he faces a maximum sentence of 10 to 16 months incarceration. The sentencing has not yet been scheduled.

According to information provided to the Court in connection with the case by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri L. Schornstein, between approximately April 2004 and March 2005, Richardson and his co-conspirator stole computers and computer equipment from the law firm. The property was subsequently listed and sold on eBay. Buyers did not know that they had purchased stolen property. In all, approximately 156 computers and monitors were stolen, with eBay sales proceeds of approximately $74,420.00. The crime was uncovered when an eBay buyer attempted to have the computer warranty transferred into his name, contacted Dell computer company directly, and was advised that the computer at issue had been leased to Wiley Rein & Fielding. The buyer contacted the law firm. The law firm referred the matter to law enforcement.

In announcing the guilty plea, U.S. Attorney Taylor, commended the work of Federal Bureau of Investigation, including Special Agents Denise Farmer, Michael French, David West, and Daniel Wierbicki and the staff of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Legal Assistant Lisa Robinson and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sherri L. Schornstein, who is prosecuting the case.