Former Columbia Sportswear IT director Michael Leeper pleaded guilty on August 30, 2017, to intentionally accessing the company’s network without authorization. The U.S. Department of Justice said his remote access continued after he left the company and involved commercially valuable and private information. The plea announcement described the maximum penalties he faced, not the sentence ultimately imposed.
Who was Michael Leeper, and when did he work at Columbia?
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon said Leeper, 41, of Tigard, Oregon, worked at Columbia Sportswear from May 2000 to February 2014 and became Director of Technical Infrastructure in 2012. He resigned in March 2014 and went to work for an information technology vendor. DOJ’s August 30, 2017 announcement reported that he pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court that day to intentionally accessing Columbia’s network without authorization, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1030.
What did the plea and court account say he did?
DOJ said Leeper remotely accessed Columbia’s network on a continuous basis after leaving the company, accessing and viewing commercially valuable and private information. A later District of Oregon opinion recounts that, one day before Leeper was expected to leave and have his network access terminated, he allegedly created two false login accounts. The opinion says he admitted in his criminal plea to using those logins for about two and a half years to access Columbia email accounts and other parts of its private network. The account-creation detail is presented in the opinion’s recounting of the civil record and plea; it is not a separate adjudicated finding in that civil order. The December 2017 civil opinion addresses a separate procedural issue.
What penalties did he face, and what is known about the sentence?
At the time of its plea announcement, DOJ said Leeper faced a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. His sentencing hearing was scheduled for December 7, 2017, before U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones. Those figures were announced maximums, and the hearing date was a scheduled date; the cited announcement does not report the sentence the court ultimately imposed.
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How was the civil case different from the criminal case?
Columbia sued Leeper and his later employer, 3MD, Inc., doing business as Denali Advanced Integration. The December 21, 2017 opinion said Leeper had settled Columbia’s claims against him and pleaded guilty to criminal charges arising from the same allegations; Columbia’s claims against Denali were still pending at the time.
That order granted Leeper a protective order concerning an interview he had given Denali, finding the interview protected by joint-defense privilege. It was a discovery ruling about whether that interview was protected, not a ruling on guilt, the criminal sentence, or the merits of Columbia’s remaining claims against Denali.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why did the U.S. Attorney call the intrusion serious?
U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams said: “Unauthorized computer intrusion is a serious crime, and those that unlawfully gain sensitive or proprietary information must be held accountable for their illegal conduct.” DOJ’s account specifically characterized the information Leeper accessed as commercially valuable and private; it did not publish a case-specific estimate of financial losses or broader prevalence statistics.
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