Labor & Employment Law

Hacker, Albert Gonzalez, sentenced to 20 years for $200 Million Theft

By Dobin & Jenks

The DOJ takes cyber crimes seriously, as Albert Gonzalez has found out. U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock sentenced Gonzalez to 20 years and one day in prison for two conspiracy counts in connection with his efforts to help gain access to the payment card networks of numerous nationwide retailers. The judge also ordered Gonzalez to pay a fine of $25,000 as well as serve a three year supervised release upon completion of his prison term.

This sentencing comes in addition to an earlier sentence issued against Gonzalez by U.S. District Judge Patti B. Saris for aggravated identity theft, computer fraud, conspiracy, and access device fraud among others. In this sentence, the judge also ordered Gonzalez to serve 20 years in prison in addition to a three year long supervised release after completing his prison term, and a $25,000 fine.

Court documents indicate that Gonzalez and his co-conspirators used sophisticated methods such as ?wardriving? (attempting to locate unsecure wireless computer networks with a laptop while driving) and ?sniffer programs? designed to capture card information during transfers. According to court documents, Gonzalez and his cronies stole more than 40 million credit and debit card numbers from retailers using these or similar techniques, and then sold the numbers to others for fraudulent use.

According to Federal prosecutors, the actions of Gonzalez and his co-conspirators cost a number of companies, banks, and insurers some $200 million in addition to victimizing millions of people. U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Benton J. Campbell, made the following statement about the matter:

"Computer hackers and identity thieves pose serious risks to our commercial, personal and financial security. Today?s sentence should serve as a warning to would-be hackers everywhere, including those who commit their crimes from abroad ? you will be found, prosecuted and convicted."

Full post as published by The Law Planet Blog on March 30, 2010 (boomark / email).