Minecode CEO Samal gets home detention, 3 years of probation

Minecode CEO Pradyumna Samal was sentenced to 90 days of home confinement with electronic monitoring and three years' probation by a federal court judge in Seattle for his role in crippling the website of online wine business Vinado in 2006. He was also instructed to complete 288 hours of community service and "moral reconation therapy."

U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Alice Theiler also sentenced Samal's Bellevue web development company Minecode to three years' probation, and ordered it to pay a fine of $144,000 and restitution of $120,000. Theiler scheduled a hearing for May 27 to consider whether Minecode should pay additional restitution. Vinado, in a declaration filed Wednesday, said it seeks more than $289,000 in restitution.

Samal, who pleaded guilty to computer intrusion, could have faced up to one year in prison, but the U.S. Attorney's office recommended a combination of home detention, community service and probation. On Wednesday, Minecode project manager Sandeep Verma was ordered to pay a $2,500 fine and sentenced to one year of probation for his role in the case.

The case revolved around a contract dispute between Minecode and Vinado. According to court filings, Verma, at Samal's direction, removed two programs from the Vinado website, and Samal later "knowingly caused the transmission of a command that deleted Vinado's website, e-mail server, and database."

At Thursday's sentencing hearing for Samal, U.S. Attorney Jim Lord told the court, "This is far from something that could be called a victimless offense," and called the computer intrusion "devastating to Vinado and its partners."

Lord said Samal "to this day appears to have not fully accepted responsibility for this conduct" and said he is "lacking a strong moral foundation.” He also noted that Samal has a net worth of $24 million.

Samal, dressed in a conservative gray suit, removed his glasses and wiped away tears as his attorney Irwin Schwartz defended his character and talked about his contributions to religious organizations and the help he's given to nonprofits and startups over the years.

Speaking of the Vinado dispute, Schwartz said Samal and his employees felt "dissed" and said the anger "boiled over to the point of doing something very, very dumb."

Seth Micarelli, a partner and chief operating officer at Vinado, also addressed the court, describing how the dispute with Minecode escalated. "I never thought a $2400 bill would result in this kind of retaliation," Micarelli said, later adding, "The site is broken, it’s inoperable, and it doesn’t work."

Following the hearing, Micarelli said Vinado is considering civil litigation, but said no decisions had been made yet. He said Vinado had closed down in 2007.

Samal mumbled a "no comment" when I approached him as he exited the courthouse. He walked away quickly, seeking refuge in a nearby Starbucks.

Earlier, as the court hearing wrapped up, Paul Owen, a spokesman for Minecode, handed me a prepared statement that had apparently been printed before the sentencing. It reads:

PK Samal accepted personal responsibility and accountability for this matter and has apologized to employees and customers. Mr. Samal wishes to thank those individuals and organizations that supported him through this difficult time. Both Mr. Samal and Minecode have taken proactive measures to ensure this never happens again. The company is satisfied with the sentencing outcome and is pleased to bring this matter to a close and shift the focus back to building and growing a successful IT and software development organization.

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