Sheriff's Deputy Convicted of Exceeding Authorized Computer Access

HOUSTON—A former Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) deputy has been convicted of exceeding his authorized access to a national crime database for financial gain, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno and FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard C. Powers announced today.

Indicted in February 2010 and charged with exceeding authorized computer access for financial gain, Kurt Douglas Green, 42, of Hockley, Texas, today pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge David Hittner admitting that on Jan. 19, 2010, while employed as a HCSO deputy, he agreed to and did access confidential information from the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and sold the information to a confidential informant working for the FBI in exchange for $4900. Judge Hittner has set sentencing for Sept. 24, 2010, at 9:30 a.m. Green faces a maximum punishment of five years' incarceration, up to three years of supervised release, and a maximum fine of $250,000. The court has permitted Green to remain on bond pending the sentencing hearing.

The charges against Green are the result of an FBI undercover operation initiated after receiving information that Kurt Green, an employee of the HCSO assigned to the jail, sold information from the federal database known as NCIC. The NCIC database is maintained by the FBI. On Jan. 12, 2010, in a recorded telephone conversation, the informant provided deputy Green with the names of 10 persons—none of whom were under investigation—and requested criminal histories for the informant’s personal use. A week later, on Jan. 19, Green and the informant met in a parking lot in Houston. In an audio/video recording Green provided NCIC printouts for seven of the 10 persons to the informant, explained the printouts were from the NCIC database, and was paid $4900 by the informant for the information.

The documents were recovered by the FBI who confirmed the documents were NCIC printouts and that Green had accessed the federal NCIC database to obtain the information exceeding his authorized access to the database.

Assistant U.S. Attorney James McAlister is prosecuting the case