Florida Woman Convicted Of Damaging Her Former Employer’s Computers After She Was Fired
summary
Medghyne Calonge, a former HR director, was convicted of intentionally and recklessly damaging her former employer’s protected computer system by deleting over 17,000 job applications and resumes after being fired, causing over $100,000 in recovery costs and permanent data loss.
paragraph
Medghyne Calonge, 41, was convicted of one count of intentionally damaging a protected computer and one count of recklessly causing damage after she deleted over 17,000 job applications and resumes from System-1, a proprietary HR platform her former employer had invested over $100,000 and two years to build. Following her termination in June 2019, she accessed the system remotely and destroyed all data while leaving profane messages, forcing the company to spend more than $100,000 on investigation and reconstruction. She faces up to 10 years for intentional damage and up to five years for reckless damage, and is awaiting sentencing by U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods in the Southern District of New York.
narrative
Medghyne Calonge, a 41-year-old former head of human resources for a Manhattan-based online professional services firm, was terminated in June 2019 for failing to meet job requirements, including improperly downgrading a colleague’s system access. As she was being escorted out, witnesses observed her repeatedly pressing the delete key on her desktop computer. Hours later, she remotely logged into System-1—a custom-built HR platform that had cost over $100,000 and two years to develop—and over the next two days deleted more than 17,000 job applications and resumes, leaving profane messages throughout the system and completely erasing all data. The employer spent over $100,000 investigating the breach and rebuilding the system, and to this day has not recovered all lost records. Calonge was convicted by a jury on two federal charges: intentionally damaging a protected computer (max 10 years) and recklessly causing damage (max 5 years). The case was prosecuted by the Southern District of New York’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit, with the FBI leading the investigation, and she now awaits sentencing before U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods.
Classified cyber-fraud(confidence 100%). No EDGAR filing fingerprint (criminal/DOJ-side scheme). detection rule →
Parties
audrey straussjudge gregory h. woodsmedghyne calongeprotected computerwork of the fbi
Keywords
calongeformer employeremployercomputerslinkflorida womanwoman convictedconvicted damagingdamaging formeremployer computerscomputers firedgovernment non-governmentnon-government sitessites typicallytypically appear
Extracted insights
Dollar amounts 1
- $100K $100,000 $100K–$1M
Entities 5
- person audrey strauss
- person judge gregory h. woods
- person medghyne calonge
- person protected computer
- agency work of the fbi
Triples 14
- Jury Returned Guilty Verdict Against Medghyne Calonge
- Medghyne Calonge Caused Damage To Protected Computer
- Medghyne Calonge Accessed Protected Computer
- Medghyne Calonge Deleted Tens Of Thousands Of Human Resources Records
- Judge Gregory H. Woods Presided Over Six-Day Trial
- Medghyne Calonge Caused Damage To Computers Of Her Former Employer
- Medghyne Calonge Wiped Out Information Vitally Important To The Employer
- Employer-1 Invested Over $100,000 To Build System-1
- Medghyne Calonge Deleted Over 17,000 Job Applications And Resumes
- Medghyne Calonge Destroyed All Of Employer-1's Data In System-1
- Employer-1 Spent Over $100,000 To Investigate Incident
- Medghyne Calonge Was Convicted Of One Count Of Intentionally Damaging Computers
- Audrey Strauss Praised Work Of The FBI
- Timothy V. Capozzi And Louis A. Pellegrino Are In Charge Of The Prosecution
Extracted body text (3,859c)
Press Release Florida Woman Convicted Of Damaging Her Former Employer’s Computers After She Was Fired Monday, August 16, 2021 Share FacebookLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. XLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. LinkedInLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. Email For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that a jury returned a guilty verdict today against MEDGHYNE CALONGE, on one count of intentionally causing damage to a protected computer, and one count of accessing a protected computer and recklessly causing damage. Both counts relate to CALONGE’s deletion of tens of thousands of human resources records of her former employer (“Employer-1”). U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods presided over the six-day trial. U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “As a unanimous jury found today, Medghyne Calonge intentionally and maliciously caused severe damage to the computers of her former employer. Her actions wiped out information vitally important to the employer company, and cost the company money and time to repair. Now Calonge awaits sentencing for her crimes.” According to the Indictment and the evidence at trial: In January 2019, CALONGE was hired by Employer-1, a Manhattan-based online provider of professional services, to serve as the head of human resources in their St. Petersburg, Florida, office. On June 28, 2019, CALONGE was terminated for failing to meet the minimum requirements of her job after, among other things, she improperly downgraded a colleague’s access to a computer system following an argument with the colleague. While she was being terminated, and just before she was escorted from the building, CALONGE was observed by two employees of Employee-1 repeatedly hitting the delete key on her desktop computer. Several hours later, CALONGE logged into a system (“System-1”) used by Employer‑1 to receive and manage applications for employment with the company, which the company had invested two years and over $100,000 to build. During the next two days, CALONGE rampaged through System-1, deleting over 17,000 job applications and resumes, and leaving messages with profanities inside the system. Ultimately, CALONGE completely destroyed all of Employer-1’s data in System-1. Employer-1 subsequently spent over $100,000 to investigate and respond to the incident and to rebuild System-1. To this day, Employer-1 has been unable to recover all of its data. * * * CALONGE, 41, of Tampa, Florida, was convicted of one count of intentionally damaging computers, which carries a maximum prison term of 10 years, and one count of recklessly damaging computers, which carries a maximum prison term of five years. The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge. Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy V. Capozzi and Louis A. Pellegrino are in charge of the prosecution. Contact James Margolin, Nicholas Biase (212) 637-2600 Updated August 16, 2021 Topic Cybercrime Component USAO - New York, Southern Press Release Number: 21-220
OCR text (3,859c · plain-text · 99% conf)
Press Release Florida Woman Convicted Of Damaging Her Former Employer’s Computers After She Was Fired Monday, August 16, 2021 Share FacebookLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. XLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. LinkedInLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. Email For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that a jury returned a guilty verdict today against MEDGHYNE CALONGE, on one count of intentionally causing damage to a protected computer, and one count of accessing a protected computer and recklessly causing damage. Both counts relate to CALONGE’s deletion of tens of thousands of human resources records of her former employer (“Employer-1”). U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods presided over the six-day trial. U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said: “As a unanimous jury found today, Medghyne Calonge intentionally and maliciously caused severe damage to the computers of her former employer. Her actions wiped out information vitally important to the employer company, and cost the company money and time to repair. Now Calonge awaits sentencing for her crimes.” According to the Indictment and the evidence at trial: In January 2019, CALONGE was hired by Employer-1, a Manhattan-based online provider of professional services, to serve as the head of human resources in their St. Petersburg, Florida, office. On June 28, 2019, CALONGE was terminated for failing to meet the minimum requirements of her job after, among other things, she improperly downgraded a colleague’s access to a computer system following an argument with the colleague. While she was being terminated, and just before she was escorted from the building, CALONGE was observed by two employees of Employee-1 repeatedly hitting the delete key on her desktop computer. Several hours later, CALONGE logged into a system (“System-1”) used by Employer‑1 to receive and manage applications for employment with the company, which the company had invested two years and over $100,000 to build. During the next two days, CALONGE rampaged through System-1, deleting over 17,000 job applications and resumes, and leaving messages with profanities inside the system. Ultimately, CALONGE completely destroyed all of Employer-1’s data in System-1. Employer-1 subsequently spent over $100,000 to investigate and respond to the incident and to rebuild System-1. To this day, Employer-1 has been unable to recover all of its data. * * * CALONGE, 41, of Tampa, Florida, was convicted of one count of intentionally damaging computers, which carries a maximum prison term of 10 years, and one count of recklessly damaging computers, which carries a maximum prison term of five years. The statutory maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge. Ms. Strauss praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy V. Capozzi and Louis A. Pellegrino are in charge of the prosecution. Contact James Margolin, Nicholas Biase (212) 637-2600 Updated August 16, 2021 Topic Cybercrime Component USAO - New York, Southern Press Release Number: 21-220