Illegal Devices Offered Free Internet
An Astoria man has been charged with allegedly selling cloned wireless modems that he had advertised on the website Craigslist as being compatible with Time Warner Cable and other Internet providers, allowing purchasers to access the Internet without paying a monthly fee.
Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown identified the defendant as Andres Saldarriaga, 22, of Astoria Boulevard. He was arraigned last Tuesday, Aug. 21, in Queens Criminal Court on a complaint charging him with second-degree forgery, second degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, criminal possession of forgery devices and theft of services.
Saldarriaga, who faces up to seven years in prison if convicted, was released without bail and ordered to return to court on Sept. 25.
According to the criminal charges, between Mar. 24, 2011 and Aug. 20, Saldarriaga allegedly placed an advertisement on the website Craigslist and offered for sale cable modems that would provide unlimited Internet access without monthly fees. The modems were advertised as compatible with Time Warner Cable, Comcast, RCN and Optimum Online.
It is alleged that between Mar. 24, 2011, and Mar. 27, an investigator working for Time Warner Cable responded to the ad by calling the telephone number listed and arranged to meet the defendant in Queens. On Mar. 25, 2011, Saldarriaga allegedly sold a cloned modem to the investigator for $150, and that a year later, on Mar. 27, 2012, in Queens, he allegedly sold the investigator another cloned modem for $175.
It is further alleged that on two separate occasions between May 24 and Aug. 20, two additional modems were purchased from Saldarriaga by a detective assigned to the District Attorney’s Detective Bureau for a total of $400.
At the time of his arrest on Aug. 20, seven additional modems were observed in Saldarriaga’s car. A search warrant was subsequently executed at his apartment where 19 ad- ditional modems were recovered, along with a laptop computer and other items that were allegedly used to make the cloned modems operational.
The investigation was conducted by Det. Dennis Drago of the NYPD Computer Crimes Squad, Special Investigations Division, under the supervision of Lt. Felix Rivera and Sgt. Michael Konefal, and the overall supervision of Deputy Chief Jeremiah Quinlan.
The investigation was further conducted by Det. Richard Lewis and Sgt. John W. Kenna, of the District Attorney’s Detective Bureau, under the supervision of Lt. Robert Burke and the overall supervision of Chief Investigator Lawrence J. Festa and Deputy Chief Investigator Albert D. Velardi.
Brown expressed his thanks to Brian H. Reich, Director of Security for Time Warner Cable’s New York City market area, as well as Investigator Joseph Daley and Supervising Investigator Roy Radzinsky of Grid Investigations, LLC.
Assistant District Attorneys Jeanine R. Diehl-Paulson and Robert D. Alexander, chief of the Computer Crimes Unit of the District Attorney’s Special Proceedings Bureau, are prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorneys Anthony M. Communiello, bureau chief, and Oscar W. Ruiz, deputy bureau chief, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Investigations Peter A. Crusco and Deputy Executive Assistant District Attorney Linda M. Cantoni.
It was noted that criminal charges are merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
