Saturday, May 25, 2013 | 11:49 a.m.
Hi, (not you?) | Member Center | Sign Out
Posted: 9:34 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013
comment(5)
OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. —
The Osceola County Sheriff's Office has recommended that a former school board member face felony charges for hacking into an email account.
In December, former Osceola school board member Cindy Hartig was accused of getting into fellow board member Jay Wheeler's district email account.
Detectives at the Sheriff's Office said they have completed their investigation and that it is now up to the state attorney's office to decide if the Hartig should be charged and arrested.
Hartig and Wheeler have been at odds for years as members of the school board.
When a school district investigation found that Hartig had hacked into Wheeler's district account and accessed some of his emails Wheeler called deputies.
"Several weeks ago Mr. Wheeler contacted the Osceola County Sheriff's Office. It was in reference to possible illegal computer use by Ms. Hartig," said Twis Lizasuain of the Osceola County Sheriff's Office.
Detectives launched a criminal investigation.
During the investigation, detectives interviewed Hartig and Wheeler.
The investigators have recommended that the former chairwoman of the school board be charged with two felonies.
"Based on that information, we sent charges to the state attorney's office for review. It will be up to them to determine whether formal charges are warranted," said Lizasuain.
The recommended charges are criminal use of personal identification information and offense against computer users.
A representative from the state attorney's office told WFTV's Ryan Hughes that the case was entered into the system Wednesday and will be reviewed by an attorney to determine if the charges will be filed.
Hartig's problems began last fall when the school district superintendent's secretary realized information from an email she'd sent to Wheeler had been copied and pasted into an email Hartig sent to someone else.
Hughes offered both Wheeler and Hartig an opportunity to comment, but both declined.
PREVIOUS STORY: Former Osceola school board member accused of hacking email account
comment(5)
© 2013 Cox Media Group. By using this website,
you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices
.
Already have an account? Sign In
{* #registrationForm *} {* traditionalRegistration_displayName *} {* traditionalRegistration_emailAddress *} {* traditionalRegistration_password *} {* traditionalRegistration_passwordConfirm *}Already have an account? Sign In
{* #registrationFormBlank *} {* registration_firstName *} {* registration_lastName *} {* traditionalRegistration_displayName *} {* traditionalRegistration_emailAddressBlank *} {* registration_birthday *} {* registration_gender *} {* registration_postalZip *} {* traditionalRegistration_passwordBlank *} {* traditionalRegistration_passwordConfirmBlank *} {* agreeToTerms *}We have sent you a confirmation email. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account.
We look forward to seeing you frequently. Visit us and sign in to update your profile, receive the latest news and keep up to date with mobile alerts.
Don't worry, it happens. We'll send you a link to create a new password.
{* #forgotPasswordForm *} {* forgotPassword_emailAddress *}We have sent you an email with a link to change your password.
We've sent an email with instructions to create a new password. Your existing password has not been changed.
To sign in you must verify your email address. Fill out the form below and we'll send you an email to verify.
{* #resendVerificationForm *} {* resendVerification_emailAddress *}Check your email for a link to verify your email address.

You're Almost Done!
Select a display name and password
{* #socialRegistrationForm *} {* socialRegistration_displayName *} {* socialRegistration_emailAddress *} {* traditionalRegistration_password *} {* traditionalRegistration_passwordConfirm *}Tell us about yourself
{* registration_firstName *} {* registration_lastName *} {* registration_postalZip *} {* registration_birthday *} {* registration_gender *} {* agreeToTerms *}