SHARE
Facebook X Pinterest WhatsApp

Pa. Man Charged in SonicWall Warranty Scam

A federal grand jury indicted a Pennsylvania man with five counts of mail fraud for allegedly obtaining SonicWall security appliances through a warranty scam and attempting to sell them on eBay. Thomas J. Kline, 66, of Mount Pleasant, Pa., was formally indicted June 24. According to federal authorities, Kline registered hundreds of serial numbers to […]

Written By
thumbnail
Lawrence Walsh
Lawrence Walsh
Jun 30, 2009
Channel Insider content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More

A federal grand jury indicted a Pennsylvania
man with five counts of mail fraud for allegedly obtaining SonicWall security
appliances through a warranty scam and attempting to sell them on eBay.

Thomas J. Kline, 66, of Mount Pleasant,
Pa., was formally indicted June 24.
According to federal authorities, Kline registered hundreds of serial numbers
to SonicWall devices he didn’t own and then made tech support and warranty
claims against them. Under SonicWall’s policy, it ships new devices to the
customer to prevent a lapse in security.

Under normal circumstances, a customer making a maintenance or warranty
claim for a defective or troublesome device would return the equipment
following receipt of the replacement hardware. Kline, however, reportedly tried
to sell his new SonicWall equipment on eBay.

Kline allegedly conducted his scheme against SonicWall over a four-year
period, January 2005 to January 2009. The indictment gives no indication where
he obtained the serial numbers he registered with SonicWall, how many devices
were obtained and whether he was able to sell any devices on eBay.

If convicted, Kline could face 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000,
plus potential restitution costs to SonicWall.

Recommended for you...

Mission Announces New Multi-Product Solutions in AWS Marketplace
Jordan Smith
Dec 10, 2025
CrewAI CEO: Human Trust is Core to Autonomous AI Agents
Jordan Smith
Dec 9, 2025
Sparklight Launches Partner Solutions Program
Jordan Smith
Dec 8, 2025
ISC2 Report Shows AI Excitement, Risk Worry, and Burnout
Channel Insider Logo

Channel Insider combines news and technology recommendations to keep channel partners, value-added resellers, IT solution providers, MSPs, and SaaS providers informed on the changing IT landscape. These resources provide product comparisons, in-depth analysis of vendors, and interviews with subject matter experts to provide vendors with critical information for their operations.

Property of TechnologyAdvice. © 2025 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.