Tallahassee, Florida - Thomas F. Kirwin, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced today the indictment of three Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) students on federal charges stemming from the unauthorized access into the FAMU computer system.

Marcus Barrington (23) , Christopher Jacquette (27), and Lawrence Secrease (22 ), were charged in a five-count indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and unauthorized computer access, aggravated identity theft, and one substantive count of unauthorized computer access, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 371, 1028A, 1030, 1343 and 1349.

The indictment alleges that between June and December 2007, Barrington, Jacquette, and Secrease conspired to access the FAMU People Soft computer system for the purpose of making unauthorized grade and residency changes.

According to the indictment, the conspirators caused the grades of approximately 90 FAMU students to be changed, effecting changes in approximately 650 grades overall.

The grade changes increased the grade point averages of the majority of students whose grades were changed, which in turn, made these students eligible for financial aid in the form of grants, scholarships, and loans to which these students would not otherwise have been entitled.

Approximately 114 of the grade changes at issue were failing “F” grades that were changed to “A” grades, which had the effect of awarding students thousands of dollars worth of credit hours to which they were not entitled.

The indictment also alleges that the conspirators caused the residency status of certain students to be changed from out-of-state to in-state, thus reducing the amount of tuition owed to the university by thousands of dollars.

According to the indictment, the conspirators were able to access the FAMU computer system by surreptitiously installing keystroke loggers on computers used by employees of the registrar’s office.

The keystroke loggers enabled the conspirators to obtain the secure user names and passwords of FAMU registrar’s office employees; the conspirators then used these names and passwords to access the FAMU computer system to make both grade and residency changes.

The indictment also alleges that after learning that FAMU had reversed the unauthorized grade changes.

The conspirators accessed the computer system a second time to change their grades back, once again improving students’ GPAs and changing failing grades to passing ones.

If convicted, Barrington, Jacquette, and Secrease face a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment for conspiracy, a maximum of 5 years’ imprisonment for unauthorized access of a protected computer, and a consecutive mandatory minimum sentence of two years’ imprisonment for aggravated identity theft.

Barrington is charged with two additional counts of aggravated identity theft in Counts Four and Five of the Indictment.

Jacquette is charged with one additional count of aggravated identity theft in Count Four.

If convicted, Barrington and Jacquette face mandatory minimum terms of two years’ imprisonment on each of these counts, as well.

This Indictment is the result of a joint investigation by the FAMU Police Department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by AUSA, Eric Mountin.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.