Edison Man Spied On His Former Company, Feds Say

EDISON, NJ — An Edison man was arrested Thursday for alleged computer hacking and wiretapping of his former company’s email server, Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick announced.

Jian Yang Zhang, a/k/a “Kevin Zhang,” 37, of Edison, New Jersey, is charged with one count of unauthorized access of a protected computer and one count of interception of electronic communications. He was scheduled to appear yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Tonianne J. Bongiovanni in Trenton federal court.

According to the U.S. Attorney's office Zhang and his family were part owners of a New Jersey-based company that imported and supplied products to dollar stores, discount stores and wholesalers across the United States. After a dispute among the owners in 2015, Zhang and his family agreed to sell their interest in the company to the other owners. While negotiating the buyout, Zhang, who served as the email administrator for the company, created a hidden sub-user account within the company's email server account. Zhang left the company in February 2015. But on numerous occasions over the next 14 months, he accessed the company's email server without authorization and forwarded himself various private employee emails, the feds charged.

He is facing up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Photo via Morguefile