FORMER MONTGOMERY COUNTY RESIDENT INDICTED FOR THEFT

Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr., announced today that Andrea Massignani (a.k.a. Andre Massignani) a former employee of Bethesda based Sybase, Inc, waived extradition and voluntarily turned himself in to the Montgomery County Sheriff on the bench warrant issued after a November indictment charging him with Theft and related counts.

Massignani, 34 years old, who now resides in Indio, California, was indicted by a Montgomery County grand jury for engaging in a theft scheme against his employer, Sybase, Inc. It is alleged that beginning in December 2002 through March 2003, Massignani created counterfeit Sybase, Inc. payroll checks and cashed them and that he made debit account payments to his personal creditors using funds from Sybase’s payroll account. The theft total as alleged is $84,090.87.

The maximum sentence on each count of theft is 15 years incarceration and a $25,000 fine or both and on each count of counterfeiting is 10 years and a $1,000.00 fine or both. The charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. A trial is scheduled for March 27, 2006.

The case was investigated by the Maryland State Police and will be prosecuted by the Office of the Attorney General, Criminal Investigations Division.