Civil consequences of plea or finding of guilt

Civil consequences of plea or finding of guilt

If the victim of a computer crime has not recovered all of the assets lost, it may well commence a civil suit against the convicted computer criminal after a plea or a finding of guilt. Consequently a plea of "nolo contendre" may be of considerable significance to the defendant. Otherwise, mere proof of the conviction is adequate to prove most of the allegations that have to be made in the civil suit. It is also conceivable, if the defendant is an employee of the victim, or a professional who is licensed, that additional action will be taken as a result of the plea or finding of guilt.

Counsel should be prepared to tell the client whether it will be possible to have his or her conviction expunged.

Cumulative Supplement

Cases:

Restitution for costs of remediating privacy breaches: In prosecution for intentionally accessing protected computer without authorization in violation of Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), arising from access to secure university computer site and theft of Social Security numbers and biographical information, university's expenses in notifying individuals whose information had been stolen was includible in restitution awarded by court, since university was victim, participated in investigation of offense, and incurred costs; costs in question were not consequential damages precluded by Mandatory Restitution to Victims Act (MRVA). 18 U.S.C.A. § 1030(a)(5)(A)(ii), (a)(5)(B)(i); 18 U.S.C.A. § 3663A(b)(1, 4). U.S. v. Phillips, 477 F.3d 215 (5th Cir. 2007), petition for cert. filed, 75 U.S.L.W. 3663, 76 U.S.L.W. 3021 (U.S. May 30, 2007); West's Key Number Digest, Sentencing and Punishment 2154.