DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Albert Gonzalez pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to hack
into computer networks of major U.S. retail and financial
organizations and to steal data related to tens of millions of
credit and debit cards.
Prosecutors have called it the largest credit and debit card
data breach ever charged in the U.S.
According to the plea agreement, Gonzalez, 28, of Miami will be
sentenced to between 17 and 25 years in prison and his sentences in
two separate cases will run concurrently.
On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to two
counts of conspiracy to gain unauthorized access to the payment
card networks operated by, among others, Heartland Payment Systems
Inc. (HPY), a New Jersey-based card processor; 7-Eleven, a
Texas-based nationwide convenience store chain; and Hannaford
Brothers Co., a Maine-based supermarket chain.
Gonzalez, also known as "segvec," "soupnazi" and "j4guar17," in
September also pleaded guilty to 19 counts of conspiracy, computer
fraud, wire fraud, access device fraud and aggravated identity
theft relating to hacks into numerous major U.S. retailers,
including TJX Cos. (TJX), BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. (BJ), OfficeMax
Inc. (OMX), Boston Market, Barnes & Noble Inc. (BKS) and Sports
Authority Inc. (TSA). In addition, he pleaded guilty in September
to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud relating to hacks
into the Dave & Buster's Inc. (DAB) restaurant chain.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 18 and 19 in Boston, where he
remains in custody.
According to information contained in the plea agreement,
Gonzalez leased or controlled several servers and allowed other
hackers access to them, knowing they would use them to store
malicious software and launch attacks against corporate
victims.
-By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2357;
Kathy.Shwiff@dowjones.com