A man previously employed at the Walnut office of the Viewsonic Corporation was arrested this morning on federal charges of hacking into the company’s computer system and wiping out critical data, acts that shut down a computer server that was central to the company’s foreign operations.

Andy Garcia, 39, of Montebello, was arrested pursuant to an indictment returned January 28 by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles. The indictment accuses Garcia of unauthorized access to a protected computer and of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

Viewsonic Corporation is a manufacturer of computer monitors that generates more than $1 billion a year in revenues. Garcia was the network administrator at Viewsonic’s Walnut office, where he was in charge of several computer servers and had access to system passwords for management employees.

According to court documents, on April 14, 2002, approximately two weeks after Garcia was terminated, Garcia allegedly accessed Viewsonic’s computer system and deleted critical files on one of the servers that he had maintained while employed by the company. The loss of these files rendered the server inoperative, and Viewsonic’s Taiwan office was unable to access important data for several days.

Garcia was also charged with possession of a semi-automatic assault weapon found at his home. His possession of such a weapon is unlawful because he was previously convicted of two felonies.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Garcia is expected to make an initial appearance on the charges this afternoon in United States District Court in Los Angeles. If convicted, he faces a maximum possible sentence of 15 years in federal prison.

The case against Garcia was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

CONTACT: Assistant United States Attorney Wesley L. Hsu (213) 894-3045

Release No. 03-022

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