While the tech industry has a reputation for attracting shy but well-meaning nerds, the vast amounts of money involved mean that it also brings in people with shadier intentions.
There are the hackers, who break into networks and systems for fun or profit.
There are the leakers, who use their access to the knowledge and information at their finger tips to start public discussions about things that were previously corporate or government secrets.
And then there are the frauds, the people who are selling something that doesn't exist.
13. Aaron Swartz, who helped create RSS and Reddit
While the "crime" Aaron Swartz was charged with was obscure — he mass-downloaded academic files that he was entitled to as a Harvard researcher — the charges brought against him by the federal government were anything but trivial. If convicted, Swartz faced up to 35 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, restitution, forfeiture and a fine of over to $1 million.
Aaron Swartz committed suicide in January. The Department of Justice faced major criticisms for its aggressive prosecution of Swartz and was accused of trying to "make an example" of him.
12. Jeffrey Scott Hawn, who killed 32 bison who strayed onto his property
Jeffrey Scott Hawn, CEO of Texas' Attachmate Group, pled guilty to one count of criminal mischief and one count of cruelty to animals in 2008 after he hired men to assist him in killing bison which had wandered onto his land and belonged to his neighbors.
While Hawn's felony punishment was deferred, Jean Torkelson at Rocky Mountain News reported that he judge in the case sentenced him to serve ten days in prison for the cruelty charge and nearly $160,000 in fees to the family, Colorado animal protection groups, and the local government.
11. Raymond Bitar, who ran an illegal online poker company
Raymond Bitar was CEO of Full Tilt Poker, an online poker company that was able to process its illegal revenue by funneling it through shell companies that appeared legitimate.
In 2011, he was charged with illegal online gambling and faced up to 35 years in prison. As Bernard Vaughan at Reuters reported earlier this year, Bitar was able to receive no jail time after pleading guilty due to a severe heart condition (which requires him to wear a defibrillator under his clothes), but was ordered to forfeit $40 million.
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