Three men from Latvia could each face a prison term of 20 years and a USD 250,000 fine if convicted in a case involving allegations of computer fraud and extortion in Montana. Their trial is scheduled to begin Dec. 29 in U.S. District Court in Great Falls.

Aleksandrs Hoholko, 29, Jevgenijs Kuzmenko, 25, and Vitalijs Drozdovs, 33, were extradited from the Netherlands and arrived in the United States on Oct. 22 to face the charges against them, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Montana.

All three have pleaded not guilty to charges of extortion affecting commerce; fraud in connection with computers; obtaining financial records through unauthorized access to computers; and threatening communications and receipt of extortion proceeds, according to court records.

The three men were arraigned Oct. 26. They are accused helping a man named Robert Borko in an attempt to extort money from the Great Falls-based financial services business Davidson Companies, according to the Associated Press. Borko allegedly broke into the company’s computer system and accessed records of more than 300,000 clients. He e-mailed the company demanding money in exchange for deleting the records.

The company on Jan. 30, 2008, informed its clients that a database containing personal information had been “unlawfully accessed by a third party through a sophisticated network intrusion.” The company offered its clients a free one-year subscription to a credit reporting service so that they could monitor their accounts.

The three men from Latvia were indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2008. Court records were unsealed only after the men were arrested.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will address the Obama Administration’s foreign policy toward the Baltic states and Central Europe in a speech scheduled Oct. 22 in Bucharest, Romania, according to a spokesman in the U.S. Embassy in Rīga.

The speech comes at a time when political leaders are questioning the U.S. commitment to the region. In July, former Latvian President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga joined other leaders in addressing an open letter to President Barack Obama expressing concern, noting that “Central and Eastern Europe is at a political crossroads and today there is a growing sense of nervousness in the region.”

The letter came after the Obama Administration said it was looking to “reset” its relations with Russia.  Last month, the U.S. dropped plans for placing a missile defense shield in Central Europe, a proposal criticized by Russia. The missiles, according to U.S. officials, were meant to protect European allies from possible missile attacks from Iran. However, a modified plan is now in the works.

U.S. National Security Advisor Tony Blinken, in an Oct. 19 conference call briefing with journalists, reiterated that while the Obama Administration wants better relations with Russia, “we continue to reject the notion of a sphere of influence.”

“We continue to stand by the right of sovereign democracies to choose their own alliances,” Blinken said.

Biden this week is visiting the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania to discuss U.S. cooperation with the region on issues of security, energy and climate change. The trip coincides with the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The vice president left for the region on Oct. 19, stopping first in Warsaw, Poland. From there he traveled to Bucharest, Romania, where the speech is scheduled at Central University. Biden’s trip will conclude in Prague, Czech Republic.

Almost six in 10 Latvian households have Internet access, but regional differences reveal that Rīga and its suburbs have greater connectivity while Latgale lags, according to data from the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB).

Internet access has increased 5 percentage points over last year to 58 percent, based on a survey of 3,900 households throughout Latvia, according to an Oct. 15 CSB press release.

Sixty-four percent of households in the capital city of Rīga have Internet access, while the capital’s suburbs have 65 percent. Vidzeme province, at 48 percent, and Latgale province, at 44 percent, have the lowest access, the CSB reported. In Kurzeme, 54 percent of households have access, but in Zemgale, the rate is 61 percent.

Not surprisingly, younger people are the most active users of the Internet. Almost all (96 percent) of people age 16-24 regularly use the Internet, the CSB survey found, while 85 percent of those aged 25-34 regularly use the medium. Regular Internet use is lowest, 20 percent, among persons aged 55-74.

Other findings of the survey include:

• Forty-five percent of households in Latvia use desktop computers to connect to the Internet, while 20 percent use portable computers and another 20 percent use mobile telephones.
• Almost all (97 percent) of Internet users are looking for information, while 90 percent use it for sending e-mail, chatting or other communication. Sixty-six percent use the Internet to access their bank accounts.
• A total of 38 percent of Latvian Internet users bought something online this year, compared to 33 percent last year. Popular purchases included event tickets, electronics, clothing and sporting goods.

The CSB survey was taken during the second quarter of this year.