Intellectual Property Law

Accused TJX Hacker Agrees to Guilty Plea ? Faces 15 to 25 Years

By Kim Zetter

Accused TJX hacker, Albert Gonzalez, has accepted a plea agreement with prosecutors in Boston that will put an end to cases that authorities have described as one of the largest credit card and identity theft cases ever prosecuted in the country.

Gonzalez, 28, has agreed to plead guilty to all of the charges in a 19-count indictment and will face a sentence of 15 to 25 years. He’s also agreed to forfeit nearly $3 million in cash as well as a Miami condo, a BMW car, a Tiffany diamond ring and three Rolex watches that he gave to others as gifts, a Glock 27 firearm seized from him at the time of his arrest and a 350C currency counter, among other items.

The agreement resolves the case against Gonzalez in Massachusetts — which charged him with hacking into TJX, Barnes & Noble and OfficeMax — as well as a case in the eastern district of New York that charged him with hacking into the Dave & Busters restaurant change.

Still outstanding are charges filed last week in New Jersey alleging that Gonzalez also hacked into Heartland Payment Systems, Hannaford Brothers, ATMs stationed in 7-11 stores, and two unnamed national retailers.

Gonzalez is scheduled to officially enter his plea at a court hearing on September 11.

See also:

• TJX Suspect Was Near Plea Agreement Until New Charges Halted Talks
• TJX Hacker Charged With Heartland, Hannaford Breaches
• Card Processor Admits to Large Data Breach
• TJX Hacker Was Awash in Cash; His Penniless Coder Faces Prison
• Former Teen Hacker’s Suicide Linked to TJX Probe
• I Was a Cybercrook for the FBI
• Bullion and Bandits: The Improbable Rise and Fall of E-Gold
• Hacking Godfather ‘Maksik’ Sentenced to 30 Years by Turkish Court
• Stakeouts, Lucky Breaks Snare Six More in Citibank ATM Heist

Full post as published by Threat Level on August 28, 2009 (boomark / email).