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Spring Hill man faces 14 theft charges in TV cards
By JAMIE JONES, Times Staff Writer SPRING HILL -- Robert Lee Ward Jr. sat before a computer in his living room and rolled a marijuana cigarette. "I've got to get my creative juices flowing," he said while an undercover investigator watched. The 47-year-old started re-encoding satellite cards to give his customers illegal access to HBO, Showtime and various sporting events, authorities said. For four years, Ward has helped at least 170 residents in and around Hernando County obtain cheap access to television shows or movies they want to see through satellite television, authorities said. On Thursday, an undercover investigator from California, who had paired up with the Sheriff's Office, visited Ward's Spring Hill home and asked him to encrypt a few cards. Afterward, Ward of 10132 Langan Ave. was charged with 14 counts of principal in the first degree to grand theft. He has been released from jail on bail. Ward has not given investigators the names of his customers, but Detective Tony Scarpati of the Sheriff's Office said he will try to find them and charge them with grand theft. "We're coming after you," Scarpati said. Ward could not be reached for comment on Monday. Scarpati said Ward was otherwise cooperative, even agreeing to star in a video to help train detectives investigating computer fraud. The Sheriff's Office began investigating Ward in March after receiving a call from Keith Sherron, a California-based investigator with NDS, which is a United Kingdom-based company that provides encryption equipment to DirecTV. The company produces plastic satellite cards that customers use to access programming. The cards let those who pay for service receive programs, and try to keep out those who have not. Technically speaking, the cards have microchips that hold algorithms and help unscramble microwave transmissions. Basically, the cards are one part of the satellite system that unscrambles programs. Sherron heard from an informant that Ward was a major provider of hacked satellite cards. He went to see Ward, who ran a computer shop off Mariner Boulevard called Computer Technologies, authorities said. There, Sherron said, he found Ward providing customers with new or altered cards. Ward told Sherron that he was a "good person to get to know" because he had access to "insider" information on hacking, according to arrest reports. Ward's customers likely had subscribed to satellite service at one point and received a legitimate card along with the other required equipment, authorities said. They could pay anywhere from $200 to $400 a month for the service, depending on their program selection, authorities said. Some of Ward's customers likely tired of paying the bill and heard about Ward. When they stopped paying, the company invalidated their cards and rescrambled the signals. Customers would lose their access. They went to see Ward, who owned various equipment to re-encode the cards. Ward told detectives he charged about $20 to re-encode a card, but Scarpati said he believes Ward was charging much more. He said Ward would put a paying customer's number on the card for his customers. They had to know it was illegal, Scarpati said. Ward bought equipment from Canada and also learned his craft through various hacking Web sites not easily accessible on the Internet, Scarpati said. At one point, one of Ward's employees canvassed Hernando County neighborhoods, knocking on doors and offering the service, Scarpati said. Ward has an extensive criminal record dating back to 1972 that includes mostly drug charges. Brooksville police charged him in 1994 with forging $1,800 worth of company checks and threatening co-workers who would not agree to do "business his way," but those charges were later dismissed, state records show. Ward would owe about $36,000 if forced to pay restitution for the 14 cards he sold detectives. He also could face federal charges, but Scarpati said the FBI has its hands full in the aftermath of Sept. 11 and has expressed no interest in prosecuting. -- Jamie Jones covers law enforcement and courts in Hernando County and can be reached at 754-6114. Send e-mail to jjones@sptimes.com.
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From today's Hernando Times Letters |
