Eugene Kashpureff, the operator of the AlterNic alternative domain name registry, pleaded guilty to a single count of computer fraud stemming from his re-direction of the InterNic site to his own site last July. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in jail and a $250,000. Kashpureff was not saying much when we spoke to him Friday beyond that he was very hopeful about the sentencing. A date has not been set for the sentencing, which will be in Brooklyn Federal Court. Kashpureff fled the US last year after the FBI issued a warrant for his arrest following a complaint from an internet user on Long Island, New York. However, Canadian police arrested him and he spent two months in jail in Toronto before being released on bail on Christmas Eve and voluntarily returning to the US to face trial. It would be a major surprise if Kashpureff was sent back to prison. The InterNic site is run for the federal National Science Foundation (NSF) by Network Solutions Inc, to whom Kashpureff has already publicly apologized. Kashpureff, back in control of the AlterNic since February along with his technical assistant Diane Boling, says the service is running smoothly. The pair took back control from others who they maintained were running the service into the ground.
