Tony Trout, Former Greenville County Councilman, Sentenced in Computer Intrusion Case

SPARTANBURG, SC—United States Attorney W. Walter Wilkins stated today that Harold Anthony “Tony” Trout, age 53, of Greer, South Carolina, appeared for sentencing today in Spartanburg, South Carolina, before United States District Judge Henry F. Floyd. Trout was previously convicted of two counts of unlawfully accessing computers used in interstate communication, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1030(a)(2)(C); one count of intentionally intercepting electronic communications, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2511(1)(a); and one count of disclosing electronic communications that he had unlawfully intercepted, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2511(1)(c). Judge Floyd sentenced Trout to 12 months and one day of imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release by the United States Probation Office. With the additional one day added to his 12-month sentence, Trout qualifies for credit for good behavior while imprisoned. Such credit if earned could result in his release from prison after serving ten months. No fine was imposed, but Trout was ordered to pay $400.00 in special assessments. Trout was allowed to remain free on bond until contacted by the Bureau of Prisons to report to serve his sentence. The reporting date will likely be within the next two months.

At the time of the crimes, Trout was an elected member of the Greenville County Council. His criminal charges resulted from the unlawful use of a computer monitoring program that Trout first sent to Herman G. “Butch” Kirven, the Chairman of the Greenville County Council. Trout attached the program to an e-mail message that he sent from an anonymous e-mail account. When Kirven was unable to determine what the attachment was for, he forwarded it to Joseph Kernell, the Greenville County Administrator. As a result of Kernell’s attempts to identify the attachment, it was activated on his computer. It immediately began intercepting information and sending it to a computer in Texas where Trout was able to access and download screen shots of Kernell’s computer, keystroke logs of Kernell’s work, and usernames and passwords for private bank and e-mail accounts. Using this information, Trout separately accessed Kernell’s e-mail accounts, copied private messages, and posted them on the website that Trout used to communicate with the public. Trout also posted information regarding the location and passwords for Kernell’s online banking activities.

As a result of the investigation into these actions, Trout was arrested on October 1, 2008. After he was indicted by the federal grand jury, Trout was suspended from his office as a county councilman. Trout pleaded not guilty, and he was convicted by a federal jury following a three-day trial that ended on April 22, 2009.

Mr. Wilkins stated that the case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Dean A. Eichelberger of the Columbia office led the prosecution team with assistance from Josh Goldfoot, an attorney with the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section at the United States Department of Justice in Washington, DC.