PITTSBURGH, PA – A resident of Harrison City, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to charge of intentional damage to a protected computer, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.

David Tinley, 62, pleaded guilty to one count beforeSenior or Chief United States District Judge Peter J. Phipps.

In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that from in and around 2014 and continuing until on or about May 13, 2016, Tinley, a contract employee for Siemens Corporation at the Monroeville, PA location, intentionally inserted logic bombs into computer programs that he designed for Siemens Corporation. The logic bombs ensured that the programs would malfunction after the expiration of a certain date. As a result, Siemens was unaware of the cause of the malfunction and required Tinley to fix these malfunctions.

Judge Phipps scheduled sentencing for Nov. 8, 2019 at 10:30 a.m. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense(s) and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Shardul S. Desai is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the prosecution of Tinley.