SoupNazi, the hacker who found himself in hot water for infiltrating millions of credit accounts in the nation’s biggest computer-crime case, was sentenced in a Boston federal court Thursday to 20 years behind bars. The time he must serve could be increased Friday as he faced a judge in a separate federal case involving crimes in New Jersey.
Albert Gonzalez, 28, who pulled off the Brinks job of the high-tech age, stole as much as $200 million by penetrating the server of a credit-card processing company and intercepting wireless signals from major retail outlets. He used real accounts to create bogus credit cards.
The crimes occurred between 2005 and 2008. Some targeted retailers include TJMax, Marshall’s, BJ’s and the Sports Authority.
It’s the largest identity theft ever prosecuted in the United States, and the toughest sentence ever imposed. Prosecutors said Gonzalez, the son of Cuban immigrants who became a computer whiz at age eight, was committing crimes at the same time he was helping the Secret Service catch other criminals for a salary of $75,000. He got that job in 2003 when he was arrested for fraudulent ATM transactions and recruited as an undercover operative.
“I blame nobody but myself,” Gonzalez told U.S. District Court Judge Patti Saris before sentencing, according to press reports. He also apologized for betraying “a certain government agency … that gave me a second chance in life.”
His lawyers had argued that he suffered from psychiatric problems, including computer addiction. The government’s evidence included chat logs in which he told an accomplice his goal was to earn $15 million.
Gonzalez was indicted in New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey for crimes against retailers and customers there, but the first two cases were consolidated into one prosecution.
He faced another sentencing Friday in a separate case involving breaches at Heartland Payment…