Alleged E-Commerce Extortionist To Plead Not Guilty

Robert Holcomb, a chemistry graduate student indicted last week in connection with an alleged extortion attempt against e-commerce firm Audible, will plead not guilty, his attorney said Monday. Holcomb, 37, was arrested at his Fort Collins, Colorado home in May 2000, after allegedly demanding ransom payments in exchange for keeping silent about security flaws he discovered at the Web site operated by Audible. Audible sells downloadable spoken-audio content and has investors including Microsoft and Compaq. "This was somebody who found a flaw in a Web site he loved, and he thought he'd offer them a chance to give him a reward. He didn't mean any harm, and he didn't intend to come on like the Mafia," Jonathan L. Miller, co-counsel for Holcomb, told reporters Monday. When he is arraigned later this month, Holcomb will plead not guilty to all six counts, which include criminal infringement of a copyright, exceeding authorized access to a protected computer, and attempted extortion, according to Miller. On May 21st, Holcomb's attorneys filed a lawsuit against Audible in the Colorado district court, accusing the Internet company of breach of contract and fraud. According to the indictment filed Friday by the U.S. Attorney's office for New Jersey, Holcomb exploited security flaws at the Audible site to download 435 pieces of recorded audio over a one-month period beginning in late March 2000. In April 2000, using an anonymous Hotmail e-mail account registered to the nickname "Tupelo," Holcomb threatened to reveal the flaws to the media if Audible did not meet his demands. Those demands included cash equal to the value of the Audible site's content, a 2001 Volvo T5 wagon, two Diamond Rio digital audio players, and unlimited, free downloads of Audible content. Audible agreed to the demands, but insisted that Holcomb not reveal the site's security flaws to the media or anyone else. After Holcomb suggested that the parties sign a five-year non-disclosure agreement, Audible faxed an agreement to a fax machine in the CSU chemistry department. Several weeks later, U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents with guns drawn appeared at Holcomb's home to arrest him.