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Hacker Pleads Guilty To Massive Credit, Debit Card Theft

Posted on: Saturday, 12 September 2009, 13:30 CDT

A hacker involved in the largest credit card theft in US history pleaded guilty Friday to several charges of criminal activity and credit card fraud.

Albert Gonzalez, of Miami, pleaded guilty to 19 counts of conspiracy, computer fraud, wire fraud, access device fraud and aggravated identity theft in a series of attacks on several major retailers, including Barnes & Noble, Office Max, Boston Market and Sports Authority.

Additionally, Gonzalez pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in an attack on Dave & Buster’s restaurant system.

Gonzalez, 28, was aided by a group of other hackers to use techniques, such as “wardriving” as well as sniffer programs in order to gain access to credit and debit card information at retail stores.

The attacks resulted in more than 40 million stolen credit and debit card numbers.

"Gonzalez and his co-conspirators sold the numbers to others for their fraudulent use and engaged in ATM fraud by encoding the data on the magnetic stripes of blank cards and withdrawing tens of thousands of dollars at a time from ATMs," the Justice Department said.

Gonzalez entered guilty pleas in a US District Court in Boston.

"The investigation and prosecution of identity theft is a top priority of the Department," said Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Michael Loucks. 

"In the past 10 years there has been a dramatic growth in the transfer and storage of credit and debit card data on computer networks.  It is thus compellingly important that we work hard to investigate and prosecute the theft of personal identity data that citizens entrust to computer networks every day."

Sentencing has been set for December 8. Gonzalez will face a minimum of 15 years in prison, and a maximum of 25 years.

According to AFP, Gonzalez was also forced to forfeit one million dollars, which was buried in his backyard, his Miami condo, a 2006 BMW 330i, a Tiffany diamond ring and Rolex watches.

Gonzalez still faces charges in another case originating in New Jersey, in which he and two Russian co-conspirators allegedly stole more than 130 million credit and debit card numbers from payment processors such as Heartland Payment Systems, 7-Eleven Inc., and Hannaford Brothers Co. Inc.

"Technology has forever changed the way we do business, virtually erasing geographic boundaries," said U.S. Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan. 

“However, this case demonstrates that even in the cyber world, there is no such thing as anonymity.  The Secret Service, in conjunction with its many law enforcement partners across the United States and around the world, continues to successfully combat these crimes by adapting our investigative methodologies.”

Source: RedOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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