Suspect Allegedly Duped Army Into Bankrolling Porn Web Site
A computer specialist was charged Thursday with operating a sex show Web site on a high-speed line that he got the Army to pay for by telling them it was used for communicating with forces in Bosnia.
A 68-count indictment charged Gilbert Benjamin, 49, of Neptune, N.J., with mail and wire fraud and submitting false claims with the intention of defrauding the government, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Michael Guadagno.
The indictment said Benjamin charged the Army more than $100,000 to run the Internet line from 1997 to 1998, telling officials at Ft. Monmouth, N.J., that it was needed to back up the post’s communications with forces in Bosnia.
Instead, Benjamin used the line to operate an adult entertainment Web site whose paid subscribers could participate in two-way video hookups with live shows, Guadagno said.
Benjamin also ordered computers and computer parts that he sold to an electronics company owned by his brother, Guadagno said.
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