Albert Gonzalez Sentenced To Ten Years
Card Hacker Draws 20 Year Sentence
Prosecutors said the hacks into accounts held by customers of Barnes & Noble, OfficeMax, TJX, and other retailers resulted in more than $200 million in losses and damages.
By Paul McDougall InformationWeek
A judge on Thursday sentenced a hacker who stole more than 40 million debit and credit card numbers to 20 years in prison and $25,000 in fines. Albert Gonzalez, 28, had previously pled guilty to breaking into accounts held by customers of Barnes & Noble, OfficeMax, BJs Wholesale Club, TJX, and other retailers. Prosecutors said the hacks resulted in more than $200 million in losses and damages.
n sentencing Gonzalez, Judge Patti Saris, of U.S. federal court in Boston, chastised the hacker for taking pride in his crimes. "There is this macho, almost glee about how you could beat the system," Saris said, according to newspaper accounts of the hearing.
Gonzalez blamed his crimes on alcoholism, drug abuse, Asperger's disorder, and an "addiction" to computers. "I stand before you humbled by the past 22 months sober," Gonzalez told the judge.
"I'm guilty not only of exploiting computer networks, but personal relationships," Gonzalez reportedly said.
Prosecutors argued for a stiff sentence because they said computer hacking is a serious white collar crime that holds the potential to inflict enormous damage on individual victims and on society as a whole.
"He shook up a portion of our financial system," said U.S. Attorney Stephen Heymann, during the sentencing hearing.
"What matters most is that teenagers and young adults not look up to Albert Gonzalez. They need to know that they will be caught. That they will be punished, and the punishment will be severe," said Heymann.
Gonzalez, who was arrested in a Florida hotel room in 2008, also pled guilty to a series of additional charges. Sentencing for those charges is set for Friday.
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albert gonzalez
Albert Gonzalez, the computer hacker behind one of the largest known identity fraud cases in U.S. history, was sentenced on Thursday to 20 years in federal prison. [2]
Albert Gonzalez (born 1981) is a computer hacker and computer criminal who is accused of masterminding the combined credit card theft and subsequent reselling of more than 170 million card and ATM numbers from 2005 through 2007′the biggest such fraud in history. [3]
Albert Gonzalez, 28, a one-time federal informant from Miami, will be sentenced in Boston later this week after pleading guilty last year to hacking into thecomputer systems of major retailers, including TJX Cos., Hannaford Brothers Inc. and Dave & Buster’s. [4]
Albert Gonzalez, 28, pleaded guilty last September to separate cases related to hacking into the computers of big retailers including TJX Cos and BJ’s Wholesale Club. [5]
Notorious Miami hacker Albert Gonzalez was being paid $75,000 a year by the U.S. Secret Service to work as an undercover informant at the time he spearheaded the TJX hack in 2007, CNN reports. [6]
Gonzalez faces sentencing in other cases Friday. [5]
Gonzalez, a 28-year-old college dropout and Secret Service informant known as “soupnazi,” had confessed to stealing millions of credit card and debit card numbers from major U.S. retail chains, including T.J.Maxx, BJ’s Wholesale Club, and Barnes & Noble. [2]
Gonzalez, 28, was convicted last year of stealing more than 170 million credit and debit card numbers in a spate of high-profile cyber attacks, including retail giant TJX, credit card processor Heartland Payment Systems, Hannaford Brothers grocery chain, Office Max, and 7-11 after he pleaded guilty to numerous counts of identity theft, wire fraud, computer fraud and conspiracy. [6]
Many pages in this Fox Television Stations, Inc. web site feature links to other sites, some of which are operated by companies unrelated to Fox Television Stations, Inc. Fox Television Stations, Inc. has no control over the content or availability of any linked site. [4]
Get breaking news, top stories and on-demand video — the CBS News app delivers immediate, timely news to your phone 24/7. [1]
While cooperating with authorities, he was said to have masterminded the hacking of TJX Companies in which 45.6 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen over an 18 month period ending in 2007 topping the 2005 breach of 40 million records at CardSystems Solutions. [3]
BOSTON (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - Prosecutors will ask for a 25-year prison sentence for a computer hacker who helped orchestrate one of the largest thefts of credit and debit card numbers in U.S. history. [4]
Gonzalez and his alleged co-conspirators sold the credit numbers, encoded the data onto magnetic stripes of blank cards, and used the new cards to withdraw tens of thousands of dollars at a time from ATMs, prosecutors said. [2]
Two federal judges will sentence Gonzalez Thursday and Friday in U.S. District Court. [4]
Sources:
[1] Credit Card Number Hacker Gets 20 Years - CBS News
[2] T.J.Maxx hacker sentenced to 20 years in prison | Politics …
[3] Albert Gonzalez - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[4] Prosecutors want 25 years for TJX hacker | Albert Gonzalez |
[5] Hacker Albert Gonzalez Jailed for 20 years for Huge Credit …
[6] TJX Hacker Paid $75K As Secret Service Informant - Security …
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