ALBANY – A man standing trial in Albany on computer fraud and and identity theft counts schemed to fake evidence during the proceedings, federal prosecutors said this week.
The jury ultimately convicted the man on the underlying counts and federal authorities then handed him a new charge, one of obstruction of justice, officials said.
The case involves Tyler C. King, 30, of Dallas, Texas. He faced the computer fraud and identity theft counts related to accusations that concerned a Rensselaer County-based technology company between 2014 and 2015, according to the federal charges.
King was accused of working with another person, fellow Texas resident Ashley St. Andria, to gain access to the company’s computer network and steal proprietary information.
The federal court jury convicted King Friday after a five-day trial. He faces up to 19 years in federal prison at his April sentencing.
Prosecutors proved at trial that, among King’s acts in the conspiracy, he wiped a laptop to hide evidence of their crimes related to the company systems, the federal charging document reads.
At his trial, though, King gave his attorney text message conversations supposedly between him and St. Andria that seemingly showed a more benign purpose for her request to him to wipe a company laptop.
According to according to the exchange provided by King, the act centered around ridding the laptop of “sex videos” -“can you get these sex videos off my computer?”
King’s attorney then held the exchanges as he cross-examined St. Andria at the trial, asking her if she had really sought to remove the “sex videos.”
Federal investigators, however, found the original exchange on King’s computer seized in 2016, attached to an email. The phrase “sex videos” had replaced the original wording, “hacker crap,” – “can you get this hacker crap off my computer?” according to the federal obstruction charge.
Immediately after the verdict, agents obtained search warrants for Kings’ rental car and hotel room immediately and found a receipt from a Staples in Glenmont for the printing of dozens of color documents for the same morning he provided the documents to his attorney.
Investigators also found numerous other text message printouts, including other fakes, the federal charging document reads.
St. Andria, 30, of Irving Texas, pleaded guilty to computer fraud in August 2018. She is to be sentenced in February.
The computer fraud case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by assistant U.S. Attorneys Wayne A. Myers and Joshua R. Rosenthal.
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