RICHARD J. BERGER ADMITS ILLEGAL ACCESS OF COMPUTER SYSTEMS

March 27, 2009

RICHARD J. BERGER, 56, of New York, New York, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty yesterday, March 24, before United States District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to one count of illegally accessing a computer server.

According to documents filed with the Court and statements made in court, from approximately April 2007 to September 2007, using social security account numbers, birth dates, and contract numbers for customers of SunLife and The Hartford , BERGER accessed, or instructed his secretary to access, approximately 1292 customer annuity investment account statements over the Internet. Per BERGER’s instructions, the secretary obtained and printed the account summary sheets from Sunlife and the Hartford, which detailed the customer name and address, as well as account composition and balance. The secretary then provided the account statements and telephone numbers to BERGER, who contacted the individuals in an attempt to have them transfer their annuity accounts to another company. BERGER’s motivation for this was financial gain as he would earn a commission on the annuity amounts transferred.

The Government believes that the loss to the insurance carriers exceeded $70,000, and the parties have agreed that BERGER’s personal monetary gain from 12 accounts that were transferred from The Hartford and SunLife to an insurance carrier from whom BERGER earned commissions totaled $32,422.

Judge Thompson has scheduled sentencing for June 15, 2009, at which time BERGER faces a maximum term of imprisonment of five years and a fine of up to $250,000.