Brain-Dump Site Owner Sentenced to Prison Time

A federal court on Friday sentenced former brain-dump site owner Robert Keppel to 12 months and one day in prison, as well as ordering him to pay $500,000 in restitution to Microsoft Corp.

Keppel, owner of the defunct brain dump sites CheetSheets.com and Cheet-Sheets.com, in August pleaded guilty to charges of theft of trade secrets, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1832(a)(2). The charges stemmed from the sale of exams and answers needed to become an MCSE (Microsoft Certified System Engineer) and MCSD (Microsoft Certified Solution Developer)—sales that were transacted through Keppels sites.

Keppels defense attorney, Michelle Burrows, of Kolher and Burrows P.C., in Portland, Ore., said that, overall, she was pleased with the judges decision, although she thought the restitution was “a bit high” under the circumstances. According to Burrows, Microsoft had pressed for restitution of $1.9 million, as government prosecutors alleged that “… when companies hire people who have obtained MCSE and MCSD certificates by cheating, but who, in fact, cannot install and maintain the systems correctly because they have neither the experienced nor expertise in the Microsoft products commensurate with the certificates, those companies tend to blame the Microsoft product and become reluctant to buy other products.”

Microsoft also claimed that they had to retool certification tests because they were corrupted due to Keppels actions, a claim that Burrows refuted. “Theres a number of certification prep classes that do what [Keppel did],” she said. “It would be hard to prove” that it was Keppels actions that caused the alleged corruption, she said. In addition, Burrows said, Microsoft had to retire exams, not because of corruption due to brain-dumping, but simply because of technology changes that made the exams obsolete.

In addition to the restitution and prison term—which the court recommended be served in a medium-security facility in Portland—Keppel was sentenced to three years of supervised release after his prison term, along with a $100 special assessment which will be paid to a court victims fund, according to John Hartingh, executive assistant U.S. attorney, in Seattle.

The U.S. Attorneys Office earlier this week (Jan. 28) had filed a recommendation with the court that Keppel serve 18 months in federal prison. Burrows countered with a sentencing memo filed with the court that asked that Keppel not be sentenced to jail or be forced to pay millions in restitution.

The $500,000 restitution will be offset by a credit of $200,000 from assets that were previously seized. As far as where Keppel would come up with the remaining $300,000, Burrows said that her client is broke and will have to set up a payment schedule when he finishes his prison term.

“It could be Microsoft gets payments of $200/month” for 125 years, she said.