THREE "LEGION OF DOOM" MEMBERS PLEAD
GUILTY TO CRACKING CHARGES

  (July 10)
  Three members of the so-called "Legion
of Doom" underground computing group
have pleaded guilty to helping others
defraud Bell South and other
telecommunications industries of
thousands of dollars. The trio is to be
sentenced Sept. 14 in federal court in
Atlanta.
  The three are Adam Grant, 22, and
Robert Riggs, 22, both of Atlanta, and
Franklin Darden Jr., 24, of Norcross.
  The Associated Press reports Darden
and Riggs pleaded guilty to one count of
conspiracy each and face a maximum
penalty of five years in prison and a
$250,000 fine. Grant pleaded guilty to
possessing 15 or more BellSouth access
devices with intent to defraud and faces
a possible 10 years in prison and a
$250,000 fine.
  US Attorney Joe Whitley said in a
statement that Grant and Darden also
allegedly monitored private phone
conversations.
  Government prosecutors told the court
they believe that between September 1987
and last July 21 the three conspired to
commit computer fraud, wire fraud,
access code fraud and interstate
transportation of stolen property.
  US Attorney Ken Alexander commented,
"These are very bright individuals. They
had the power to jeopardize the entire
industry."
  Authorities have called the "Legion of
Doom" a closely knit group of some 15
computer intruders in Georgia, Florida,
Texas, Illinois, Michigan and New York.
  "The legion allegedly made a game of
disrupting the telecommunications
industry, monitoring private phone
lines, stealing proprietary information
and modifying credit information," said
United Press International. "The
conspiracy involved a scheme to defraud
Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph
Company and Bell South Advanced
Network."
  Government attorneys said the
defendants stole Bell South information,
distributed it to others and positioned
themselves to compromise phone service
in the four-state Bell South area.
  As reported earlier, authorities in
Indiana prosecuted a teen-ager last May
who allegedly wanted to be a member of
the Legion. That unidentified juvenile
pleaded guilty to 11 counts of fraud and
had agreed to testify against the
Georgia men in a trial that was
scheduled to begin yesterday at the time
of the guilty pleas.
  Meanwhile, BellSouth spokesman Scott
Ticer told Margie Quimpo and Willie
Schatz of The Washington Post that
incidents in which the men were involved
cost his firm $1.5 million. The bulk of
the expense, he said, was management
time spent investigating the case and
also to change the passwords of the
firm's system.
  Ticer said BellSouth has had several
intrusions into its systems, as have
"most businesses with any computer
system."
  In addition, Dale Boll, assistant
special agent in the Secret Service's
fraud division, said BellSouth is
estimated to have lost $372,000 in
software and services, while credit card
losses amounted to $800,000.
  The Post reported the government
alleged the defendants called various
BellSouth computer systems without
authority and obtained access codes,
which they distributed to other computer
intruders. Boll also said that the three
were able to manipulate BellSouth's
system so that calls made by regular
phone users to Daytona Beach would be
diverted to the city's information
number.
  --Charles Bowen


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