Aston Martin Dealers Are Charged With Spying on Rival

Bloomberg
April 22 (Bloomberg) -- The owners of a Long Island, New York, exotic-car dealership that sells Bentleys and Aston Martins were charged with corporate espionage against a rival that sells Ferraris and Maseratis.

Giacomo Ciaccia and Leka Vuksanaj, owners of Universal Autosports LLC in Glen Cove, were arrested today at their homes, along with Creative Director Michael Lussos, Acting U.S. Attorney Lev Dassin in Manhattan said in a statement. They are accused of illegally tapping into the e-mail of Ferrari Maserati of Fort Lauderdale-Long Island in Plainview, New York.

The defendants gained access to Ferrari Maserati’s e-mail server about 2,500 times from February to September last year from their homes and Universal Autosports, according to the criminal complaint dated April 16 and unsealed today.

“In one instance a dealer associated with Universal Autosports e-mailed a customer who had been negotiating with Ferrari Maserati to buy a rare Ferrari Enzo worth more than $1.3 million,” according to the statement.

“Is there any way I can help or get in the middle,” the dealer wrote, according to the complaint. “Have they found you a car yet?”

The three defendants appeared in court today. Ciaccia and Vuksanaj were released on bonds of $100,000 each. Lussos was released on a $50,000 bond.

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