A nationally known computer marketing and Web site developer based in Cross Lanes has been sentenced to three years in state prison after admitting he used stolen credit card numbers to make online purchases that included cigars, movie tickets and artwork.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A nationally known computer marketing and Web site developer based in Cross Lanes has been sentenced to three years in state prison after admitting he used stolen credit card numbers to make online purchases that included cigars, movie tickets and artwork.
Martin R. Bowling, 29, chief technical officer for Comar Inc. and its subsidiary Vec3, was sentenced March 5 on computer fraud charges.
Bowling also created a popular Web site called Zi.ma, which shortens Web site addresses. He has more than 1,300 followers on Twitter.com, a social networking service.
In November, Bowling pleaded guilty to a felony charge that he used stolen credit card numbers to buy $4,490 of merchandise on the Internet.
The purchases included $700 in cigars, posters, a beer-brewing kit, kitchen blender, Victoria's Secret clothing, an Xbox video system, computer hard drive, Zune MP3 player and a "robot" litter box for his four cats: Mr. Bones, Thumbalina, Mac and Cheese.
"He used the names and credit card numbers to make purchases on the Internet from merchants across the country," Assistant Kanawha County Prosecutor Daniel Holstein said Monday.
Bowling also told police he tried to use the credit card numbers to download online pornography, but was unsuccessful, according to a police report.
Nitro police arrested Bowling in July 2007 after Bowling picked up movie tickets for "Transformers" at Great Escape Theaters in Nitro, Holstein said.
Bowling also sold fraudulently purchased movie ticket to several friends and co-workers, according to the police report.
"When [police] confronted him, he came clean," Holstein said.
Bowling told police he obtained the American Express credit card numbers and names while working for Woodcraft Magazine, which is published in Parkersburg.
Bowling had access to the company's subscriber database, according to the police report. He used at least five names and credit card numbers to make the illegal purchases.
"He got access through the scope of his work," Holstein said.
Bowling was being held at South Central Regional Jail Monday night, awaiting transfer to state prison.
His lawyer, Erica Lord, declined comment.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A nationally known computer marketing and Web site developer based in Cross Lanes has been sentenced to three years in state prison after admitting he used stolen credit card numbers to make online purchases that included cigars, movie tickets and artwork.
Martin R. Bowling, 29, chief technical officer for Comar Inc. and its subsidiary Vec3, was sentenced March 5 on computer fraud charges.
Bowling also created a popular Web site called Zi.ma, which shortens Web site addresses. He has more than 1,300 followers on Twitter.com, a social networking service.
In November, Bowling pleaded guilty to a felony charge that he used stolen credit card numbers to buy $4,490 of merchandise on the Internet.
The purchases included $700 in cigars, posters, a beer-brewing kit, kitchen blender, Victoria's Secret clothing, an Xbox video system, computer hard drive, Zune MP3 player and a "robot" litter box for his four cats: Mr. Bones, Thumbalina, Mac and Cheese.
"He used the names and credit card numbers to make purchases on the Internet from merchants across the country," Assistant Kanawha County Prosecutor Daniel Holstein said Monday.
Bowling also told police he tried to use the credit card numbers to download online pornography, but was unsuccessful, according to a police report.
Nitro police arrested Bowling in July 2007 after Bowling picked up movie tickets for "Transformers" at Great Escape Theaters in Nitro, Holstein said.
Bowling also sold fraudulently purchased movie ticket to several friends and co-workers, according to the police report.
"When [police] confronted him, he came clean," Holstein said.
Bowling told police he obtained the American Express credit card numbers and names while working for Woodcraft Magazine, which is published in Parkersburg.
Bowling had access to the company's subscriber database, according to the police report. He used at least five names and credit card numbers to make the illegal purchases.
"He got access through the scope of his work," Holstein said.
Bowling was being held at South Central Regional Jail Monday night, awaiting transfer to state prison.
His lawyer, Erica Lord, declined comment.
The Kanawha County prosecutor's office had recommended probation for Bowling, but Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey sentenced him to a three-year prison term, though he could be eligible for parole within a year. Bowling had no previous felony convictions.
He was indicted in May 2008 and pleaded guilty to the computer fraud charge in November.
Bowling frequently spoke at national conferences on Web site design and development. Last fall, he received special permission from the court to travel outside West Virginia to attend a conference in New York.
He also said on his Web site, www.martinbowling.com, that he was a former professional wrestler, and told friends that he grappled under the name "Marty Gras."
At Comar Inc., Bowling worked with local small businesses, helping them develop Web sites.
The company recently received several grants for the project from the state Workforce West Virginia office, where Bowling's mother, Mary Jane Bowling, serves as a systems operations coordinator.
Bowling, who graduated from Marshall University with a computer science degree, previously worked on Web site development for Toyota, Bayer CropScience, the Air National Guard, Marie Callender Foods, the state Department of Health and Human Resources and Treasurer's office, according a biography on his Web site.
Bowling also specialized in search engine optimization, social media and "on-line reputation management," according to his Web site.
He gave no indication of his legal troubles to his friends and co-workers, who describe him as a "computer genius." Bowling was sending Twitter messages to his followers as late as the day before he was sentenced.
Comar President Al Hendershott did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment Monday. Comar is the former publisher of West Virginia Executive and MetroValley magazines.
Bowling is probably best known for developing the Zi.ma site - named after Zima, the clear, carbonated malt beverage that went out of production in October. The Web site takes Web site addresses, or URLs, and shortens them.
Bowling, known for his stylish designer glasses, gourmet cooking and home-brewing of beer, often dropped a watermelon-flavored Jolly Rancher into his Zima before drinking it, according to a September 2008 Internet blog post.
Reach Eric Eyre at erice...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-4869.
A mess hangs over Workforce West Virginia, the state's employment training office. An ongoing Gazette investigation shows that a state official funneled grant money to her son's computer firm – even after the son was on his way to prison for making lavish purchases on the Internet with stolen credit card numbers.
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He's a productive and contributing member of society. Why lock him up at tax payer's expense? He could benefit society by performing community service.
Check the sex offender's registry and you'll find pedophiles with shorter sentences.
Doesn't make any sense.