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Maccaca Crimewatch

Desi teenagers in California face jailtime for hacking

By: Santosh :+: Under: Maccaca Crimewatch
On: ⋅ June 19, 2008 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment
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Two desi teenagers in California are facing jailtime for charges of breaking into a school and hacking into the computer systems with stolen IDs and passwords to change grades. [FOX News] (tip Jennie via email)

The two accused
img: via Fox

According to the story, 18 year olds Omar Khan and Tanvir Singh, are being accused of the above crimes with Omar facing upto 38 years in prison and Tanvir upto 3 years.

County prosecutors allege Omar Khan, 18, of Coto de Caza, and Tanvir Singh, 18, of Ladera Ranch, broke into Tesoro High School in Las Flores to steal tests and change their own and others’ grades on the school computer network.

While Singh allegedly only tried doing it once, Khan apparently did it several times.

Khan’s been charged with 69 felony counts and could get more than 38 years in prison. Singh faces four counts and could wind up with three years.

Omar is being charged with “altering and stealing public records, computer fraud, burglary, identify theft and receiving stolen property and conspiracy” and Tanvir with “conspiracy, burglary, computer access and fraud and attempted altering of a public record”. Their actions are being viewed “very seriously” by the prosecutors.

“These students are not accused of just committing simple ‘Ferris Bueller’-type offenses,” Deputy District Attorney Chuck Lawhorn told the Register. “These are very serious crimes.”

The crimes seem very detailed, especially the ones alleged to be committed by Omar including stealing a master key to the school, and stealing teacher’s IDs and passwords to change his grades and other and stealing test. Tanvir allegedly got involved when he took Omar’s help for stealing a test.

Check out a series of text messages between the two (paraphrasing from the Fox article):

Tanvir: “Hey wana go to the school tonight”
Tanvir: “Come haha I need someone with balls there with me … I have a huge test on a book tomorrow I haven’t read.”
Omar: “Some pussies did a senior prank last night so its gonna b really risky.”
Tanvir: “We will go at like 7 so its not shady. Such a gay prank. Haha wow.”
Omar: “Ya wow, Call me when you want to go.”

As for Omar, he’d gotten involved in the first place because he was frustrated by his Cs and Ds and wanted to get into one of California’s prestigious colleges?

Granted this kind of criminal behavior is more of an anomaly than the norm, but after the post on the success of South Asian kids in the Spelling Bee, this one comes as a bucket of cold water on a wet dream. Just a guess, but both will most likely cite parental and peer pressure as a catalyst for their actions, which as we all know a lot of desi parents are notorious for. But breaking in and hacking their grades and that of others is going too far, they are affecting not only their careers but also that of innocent fellow students’. Still, given the nature of these crimes and the age of the perpetrators, 38 years seems a tad much.

What do our readers think? If there are any lawyers or people involved with the legal system, among our readers, I’ll be interested in hearing their thoughts also. Comments? Opinions? Fire away in the space below and keep it clean.

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