Fake Net report man arrested
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.ONE WEEK after a bogus Internet posting caused the price of a Californian technology company to fluctuate wildly on the stock exchange, federal agents said yesterday they had identified the culprit as a mid- level engineer who they believe sought to manipulate the price of his company's shares.
Gary Dale Hoke, who worked for the North Carolina office of PairGain Technologies, was arrested at home in Raleigh, and charged with securities fraud. He was released on bail of $50,000 (pounds 31,000) after agreeing to appear in federal court in Los Angeles, where the company is based.
The Internet posting was dressed up to look like a news report from Bloomberg, the financial information provider, in which it was said that PairGain had agreed to a takeover bid from an Israeli company, ECI Telecom. PairGain's share price jumped from $8.50 to $11.125 before falling after the hoax was revealed.
It was the second time in less than two weeks that federal agents have tracked an online troublemaker, following the arrest of a New Jersey man believed to be behind the Melissa virus which flooded hundreds of thousands of computers with junk e-mail.
Mr Hoke was not formally accused of profiting from his fake posting.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments