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Twenty minutes later, one of MBS’s corporate lawyers, Trent Sullivan, arrived and came right into my office. His expression was grim, and I knew he was shocked at this turn of events. An older man with wispy grey hair, a silver goatee and thin metal glasses, he wore an impeccable three-piece suit. He'd been a corporate lawyer for years and he had worked for my father for most of the last decade. He knew the ins and outs of corporate law.
I went over to him and we shook hands.
"Thank God you're here," I said and ushered him to his chair. He took a seat and I went back around my desk and sat behind it.
"I heard about the hack through the grapevine but this visit by the FBI is a real shock," he said and removed his glasses, cleaning them with a kerchief retrieved from a pocket in his suit jacket.
"Tell me about it," I said and handed him the copy of the warrant the police and Feds had to search Keith's office and take evidence.
He finished cleaning his glasses and then read it over for a few moments, stroking his goatee while he did. "Yep. This is legit. I hope to hell Keith is telling the truth and he hasn't been screwing the company over all this time."
"I trust him," I said. "He's one of my oldest friends. I don't think he'd do this. He has a great income, stock options, great future ahead of him. Why would he jeopardize it by cooking the books?"
"Greed?" Trent leaned back in his chair and shook his head. "Unfortunately, I've seen it all before. People who think they're smarter than the Feds and the IRS. People whose desire for more -- money, sex, fame -- will do anything to increase their own bottom line. Sometimes, they have an addiction and get in over their heads and end up stealing from the corporation to cover debts."
"I never took Keith as someone who was reckless or deceitful. He's ambitious but he seems like he understands and respects the law."
"Let's hope so, for MBS's sake."
We discussed the possible outcomes for a while and finally, Keith showed up, knocking at the door.
"Come in," I called out when he popped his head inside. "Have a seat. Trent and I were just going over the warrant and what happens next."
"Good," Keith said and came over to shake Trent's hand. "Sorry you had to be called in on this."
"That's what you pay me to do," Trent said while Keith took a seat across from me.
Keith spent the next fifteen minutes going over the hack and what the IT and security people found, and then the arrival of the FinCEN people and FBI with their warrant.
"I'm going down on Monday to meet with the FBI to discuss the case," Keith said.
"Me as well."
"I'll come with you," Trent replied. "The three of us will meet before and go together. We can take the car to the FBI's field office for the interview."
"Sounds good." Keith stood up. "Is there anything else?"
"No, you're free to go fo
rth and prepare. Try to get some rest this weekend so you're in top shape mentally on Monday."
"I'm really sorry about all this," Keith said. "But don't worry. There's nothing to find. If they get access to our original server, they can see how it was hacked and it must have been altered. There's no way there's any tax evasion or money laundering going on in my shop. None. If anything unlawful happened, I wasn't aware of it."
"I hope you're right," I said. "We just have to get through the next few weeks while they do the audit and hopefully, everything will clear up."
Keith said goodbye to Trent and on his part, Trent remained behind.
"Can you think of anyone who would try to hurt you by hacking MBS and planting false data?"
I shrugged. "I'm not an expert in this area of corporate espionage. I have no idea."
Trent nodded. "I'll talk to someone I know. Get him on the case. Maybe he can do some sleuthing and find out who might have a grudge."
"Thanks, Trent. I appreciate it. I know my father would be pleased to have you taking care of this, if he were still alive."
"I miss him," Trent said and shook my hand before slipping on his jacket. "He was such a force of nature."
