DOJ Indicts Pennsylvania Man for Faking Sprint Share Ownership

The Department of Justice indicted a Pennsylvania man for trying to trick financial institutions into thinking he owned 13.4 million shares of Sprint Nextel Corp.

Eric Skys, who styled himself the chief executive of "Kaiser Himmel Corp." contacted an unnamed bank saying that Sprint had handed the shares over to Kaiser Himmel of Rockwood, Pa., in return for computer work.

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York alleges Skys gave the bank forged documents including the forged names of Sprint managers, altered emails and fake securities account statements in an attempt to sell the shares. If they were sold today, the shares would be worth $113.9 million. Skys was arrested in May.

Now Skys is charged with three counts of wire fraud and one count of securities fraud - enough for up to 110 years in prison and a fine of $6 million or twice the gain or loss from the crime.

The first hearing in his case is scheduled for July 30.

- By Andrew Edwards, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5973; andrew.edwards@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

Posted to the site on 25th July 2008