A Columbus man was charged Monday in federal court with hacking into the systems of his former employer.

Patrick Angle, 34, was charged with one count of intentionally damaging a protected computer belonging to Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney's office in Massachusetts.

The charge alleges that Angle, who worked for Varian first in Gloucester and then from his home in Indiana, became disgruntled with the company because in September 2003 he was told that his contract would be terminated a month later.

According to the U.S. attorney's office, on September 17, 2003, Angle logged into Varian's server from his home in Indiana and intentionally deleted the source code for the e-commerce software he and others had been developing.

He then covered his tracks by editing and deleting some of the logs of computer activity on the server and by changing the server's root password to make it difficult for other Varian employees to log onto the server and assess and repair the damage, the statement said.

Although Varian was ultimately able to recover the deleted material from backup systems, the recovery effort cost the company US$26,455, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

If convicted, Angle faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, a fine of up to US$250,000 and restitution, according to the statement.

Angle's Indiana attorney couldn't be reached for comment.