FBI arrests man on cyber extortion charge

INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- An Indianapolis man is charged with trying to extort $208,000 by threatening to release 900,000 policy holders' healthcare information, the FBI said Thursday.

Kevin Michael Stewart is the first person charged under a new federal law prohibiting extortion by threatening to disclose stolen confidential information, a U.S. Justice Department statement said.

Stewart, 27, faces one federal count for allegedly stealing a computer server and another for allegedly trying to extort the money from the server's owner, insurance giant American International Group Inc., the statement said.

Stewart's lawyer, Bill Daisy of Indiana Federal Community Defender Inc., was in court Thursday afternoon and not immediately available for comment, a woman who answered his office phone told United Press International.

Stewart's arrest Wednesday stemmed from a March 31, 2006, burglary of a computer server at the Indianapolis office of AIG member company Medical Excess LLC. The server contained personal and healthcare information for more than 900,000 policy holders, the FBI said.

Stewart is accused of threatening to release policy holders' personal information on the Internet July 23 of this year if AIG didn't give him $208,000, the Justice Department statement said.

If convicted, he could face up to seven years in prison, an FBI spokeswoman said.