PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – A Berks County man was charged in federal court by information onTuesday with one count of intentionally damaged a computer which delayed response times to emergency calls.
The Information, a form of federal indictment, alleges that between September 11, 2015 and October 2, 2015, Marc Fox, 44, of Shoemakersville, sent unauthorized commands to a computer owned by UGI Utilities.
It is alleged that by sending these unauthorized commands, Fox intentionally changed the passwords and permissions for certain accounts on UGI’s computers. The information further alleged that Fox then sent commands to a UGI computer that caused the rerouting of emergency calls to UGI during certain time periods so that these emergency calls were not directed to the proper UGI telephone representatives, thus delaying the response to these high priority calls. The Information alleges that Fox’s computer intrusions caused more than $5,000 in damage and caused a threat to public safety.
If convicted Fox faces a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a possible fine, restitution to UGI, and a $100 special assessment.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
