By KERA News & Wire Services
Dallas, TX –
An indictment returned in Dallas names 19 people in an alleged $15 million international cybercrimes conspiracy scam.
U.S. Attorney James Jacks on Friday announced the superseding federal indictment, affecting a Sept. 5 indictment naming nine defendants.
All 19 people in the latest indictment are charged with conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. The indictment also charges 15 of the defendants with fraud related to electronic mail. Most defendants are from the Dallas area. Prosecutors say two are from Canada and eastern Europe. Four defendants are listed as fugitives.
The indictment alleges that from 2003 through mid-2009 the defendants conspired to defraud telecommunications companies, credit reporting agencies and other service providers.
Conviction on the conspiracy charge carries a maximum 30-year prison term and a $1 million fine.
ERCOT reports record winter peak demand
The bitter cold that has most of Texas in its grip has generated two winter peak demand records in as many days on the state's biggest electrical grid. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas operates that grid, which covers most of the state.
An ERCOT statement said peak demand reached a new winter record of 55,856 megawatts during the 7-8 a.m. period Friday.
That broke the day-old record 52,001 megawatts set during the 7-8 a.m. period Thursday. Kent Saathoff, vice president of system planning and operations, said, "The ERCOT grid has not experienced any major operational issues during this severe weather event."
One megawatt usually powers about 500 average-size homes under average conditions.
ERCOT's summer peak demand record is 63,400 megawatts set last July 13.
Fired coach accuses Texas Tech of slander, libel
Fired Texas Tech coach Mike Leach is accusing his former bosses of making "slanderous and libelous" statements intended to damage his reputation. Court documents filed Friday said statements made by university administrators "were made intentionally" to harm Leach and expose him to financial harm.
Leach was fired Dec. 30, just days before Texas Tech played in the Alamo Bowl, after the family of receiver Adam James said he mistreated the player after he suffered a concussion.
Leach has denied he mistreated James. The player said his coach twice ordered him to stand for hours while confined in a dark place during practice.
December sales tax revenue sees double-digit drop
Texas sales tax revenue continued to decline in December, falling 11.6 percent from December 2009 levels.
Comptroller Susan Combs released the numbers Friday. She says the state collected $1.65 billion in sales tax revenue in December, continuing a declining trend dating to February. She says collections are down across most major sectors, including oil and natural gas, construction, manufacturing and retail.
Combs says she expects growth to return during the first or second quarter of this year. She sent January allocations of $274 million to Texas cities, down 11.4 percent from last January. Texas counties received sales tax payments of $24.3 million, down 16.1 percent from last January.