The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced that Michael A. Ofstedahl, 44, of Pleasanton, California, was sentenced to five years of probation following his conviction for obstructing a federal investigation, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1505.   United States District Judge James Ware, sitting in San Jose, ordered Mr. Ofstedahl to serve six months in home confinement as a condition of probation.  No fine was imposed, a s the court deferred the imposition of a financial penalty until the conclusion of a related civil proceeding, Securities and Exchange Commission v. Michael Allen Ofstedahl, No. C-02-3685, in which Mr. Ofstedahl has also admitted liability.

Michael Allen Ofstedahl was originally charged on July 30, 2002, when a federal grand jury sitting in San Jose returned a nine-count indictment charging him with violations arising from his previous employment as Vice-President of Original Equipment Manufacturer sales at Adaptec, Inc., headquartered in Milpitas, California.  The indictment charged Mr. Ofstedahl with conspiracy to commit insider trading and insider trading, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 and 15 U.S.C. §§ 78j and 78ff and 17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5, as well as perjury, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1621, making a false statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001, and obstructing a federal investigation, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1505.

In his plea agreement, Mr. Ofstedahl admitted that he gave misleading testimony under oath to the SEC on June 29, 1999.  The SEC was investigating suspicious trading in Adaptec shares by Dr. Robert Rutner.  SEC staff attorneys specifically asked Mr. Ofstedahl whether he had given information to Dr. Rutner about Adaptec's outlook for the previous quarter.  Mr. Ofstedahl, who had known Dr. Rutner for approximately 10 years, denied having done so.  In his guilty plea, Mr. Ofstedahl admitted that his answers "were designed to mislead the SEC staff attorneys."

The prosecution is the result of a criminal referral from the San Francisco District Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission.  The criminal case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney David Callaway prosecuted the case with the assistance of legal technician Tracey Anderson.