Worker Charged With Selling Data to Rival

A former Office Depot Inc. employee was charged in federal court with selling confidential information about the company’s sales and promotions to rival office equipment retailer Staples Inc. The charge of mail fraud against Aubrey James Fisher, a 28-year-old graphic designer, was filed in U.S. District Court in Boston after an investigation by the FBI, according to the office of the U.S. attorney in Massachusetts. Office Depot is the No. 1 U.S. office equipment retailer and Staples is No. 2. Using the pseudonym Molly McGregor, Fisher allegedly sent an e-mail to a Staples employee in July in which he offered to sell confidential information about products and prices that would be published in upcoming newspaper inserts, the U.S. attorney’s office said. Fisher couldn’t be reached for comment. Staples, which is based in Framingham, Mass., notified the FBI after receiving the e-mail. If convicted, Fisher could face five years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.