Bond New York

Have NewsCorps' dastardly tactics really hopped the pond? A.C Lawrence & Co, an up and coming brokerage in New York City, would have you believe as much. The brokerage has accused a competitor of hacking into their computer system and stealing information about exclusive listings, The Wall Street Journal reports.

In the suit, A.C. Lawrence contends that Bond New York, a brokerage which claims to be the fastest growing firm in the city, has cheated them out of significant commissions. “In or about February 2011, Defendants and other individuals working with Defendants began to hack into the Listing System in order to immediately convert for their own use the proprietary property rental and sales listings obtained by the Plaintiff,” A.C. Lawrence alleges in the suit. The brokerage is suing for $5.1 million.

Bond is sticking to the NewsCorps defense, aggressively denying any charges of wrongdoing and using the opportunity to take a stab at A.C. Lawrence. “Bond vehemently denies all allegations in this frivolous and desperate suit by a competitor,” a spokesperson told The Journal.

A.C. Lawrence claims they have all the evidence they need to prove their case. In an interview with The Journal, the brokerage's lawyer, Philip Greenberg, claimed that former Bond employees had come forward and admitted knowledge of the hacking activities.

Has hacker paranoia taken New York or have mid-level brokerages really resorted to computer crimes? The truth is yet to be seen.

eknutsen@observer.com