Unprecedented 25-Year Sntnce. Sought for TJX Hacker (got 20)

spamislame · **Joined:** Tue May 09, 2006 9:18 am **Posts:** 5022

That would be Alberto Gonzalez.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/0 ... -gov-memo/

Quote:

“[T]he sentences would be the longest ever imposed in an identity theft case and among the longest imposed for a financial crime, which is appropriate because Gonzalez was at the center of the largest and most costly series of identity thefts in the nation’s history,” wrote Boston-based Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Heymann. “He knowingly victimized a group of people whose population exceeded that of many major cities and some states.”

This is the prosecution basically saying they don't buy that he has onset Asperger's Syndrome, and was very much aware of what he was doing at the time, and that it was wrong, and impacted a large number of victims.

Interesting developments!

SiL

AlphaCentauri · **Joined:** Thu Mar 01, 2007 3:01 am **Posts:** 5915

US law doesn't let you off the hook just because you're psychotic, mentally retarded, or developmentally delayed. "Insanity" is a legal concept, not a medical one. You have to be affected in such a way that you didn't understand what you were doing was wrong. Since there is probably plenty of evidence of Gonzales making efforts to conceal what he was doing while continuing to do it, that would be a tough argument to make.

There is also "guilty but mentally ill" in many states, which allows someone who is too mentally ill to deal with prison to serve time in a locked mental hospital. But should he recover his faculties during the time of his sentence, he would go to prison, not get released. It's more acceptable to juries who worry that a defendant might be pretending to be mentally ill and that as soon as he is found not guilty by reason of insanity, he'll stop pretending and get released.

spamislame · **Joined:** Tue May 09, 2006 9:18 am **Posts:** 5022

To me the real surprise is that Gonzales actually has been both remorseful and extremely helpful to law enforcement not just in the US but overseas. He's basically told them everything. If he still gets 25 years (and it sounds like that is now in the cards,) I'd be worried that that would cause a great deal of payback to build up over that time.

Then again, he won't be allowed near a computer while in prison.

Either way, this is a benchmark case. I'd be interested to see if something like this has any effect on charges against someone running, say, one of the numerous Zeus setups out there.

SiL

AlphaCentauri · **Joined:** Thu Mar 01, 2007 3:01 am **Posts:** 5915

If he told them everything -- like where all the money went -- then restitution would be a better penalty. It gets to a certain point where the length of the sentence is just so long it's meaningless as a deterrent. Would Ralsky really be less likely to spam if the penalty were 20 years instead of 10 years? (And seriously -- how many people would you have to rape to get a 25 year sentence??)

The only thing that really influences their thinking is the likelihood of getting sent to prison at all. None of them think it would ever happen to themselves, and for the most part, they've been right. I'd rather see individual criminals get less time (with long periods of restriction on their computer access after release), but put more people like him in prison so there's a real expectation that they will be caught.

As we pointed out in our open letter to the FTC chairman, the criminals are just dumping the evidence in our laps, because they don't see anyone actually acting on it.

spamislame · **Joined:** Tue May 09, 2006 9:18 am **Posts:** 5022

Gonzalez got 20 years!

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/0 ... entencing/

Quote:

Convicted TJX hacker Albert Gonzalez was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday for leading a gang of cyberthieves who stole more than 90 million credit and debit card numbers from TJX and other retailers.

The sentence for the largest and costliest computer-crime case ever prosecuted is the longest ever imposed in a hacking or identity-theft case. And it is among the longest imposed for a financial crime. It beats out a sentence recently imposed on hacker Max Ray Vision, who received 13 years in prison for similar crimes.

...

Quote:

The government claimed in its sentencing memo that companies, banks and insurers lost close to $200 million, and that Gonzalez’s credit and debit card thefts “victimized a group of people whose population exceeded that of many major cities and some states.”

There are some extremely detailed descriptions of how this crew operated in this article. Very well documented.

:silthumb:

SiL

meep · **Joined:** Thu Apr 05, 2007 4:10 pm **Posts:** 2777

I didn't read in depth about this particular case, but I am surprised at the lengthy sentence Gonzalez received. :!:

wahnula · **Joined:** Wed Nov 25, 2009 3:51 pm **Posts:** 103

Follow-up story, he received 20 years + 1 day for the other charge:

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/0 ... entencing/

The sentences run concurrently, except for that one day add-on. That's gonna be a a long day!

Alan · **Joined:** Sat Jun 27, 2009 9:39 am **Posts:** 144

I believe TX is introducing mandatory life imprisonment for J walking soon.

(yeh, they're really getting lenient on things).

spamislame · **Joined:** Tue May 09, 2006 9:18 am **Posts:** 5022

Alan wrote:

I believe TX is introducing mandatory life imprisonment for J walking soon.

(yeh, they're really getting lenient on things).

Sorry: for who walking soon?

SiL

AlphaCentauri · **Joined:** Thu Mar 01, 2007 3:01 am **Posts:** 5915

jaywalking

spamislame · **Joined:** Tue May 09, 2006 9:18 am **Posts:** 5022

Ohhhh hehe. :oops:

That was not obvious to me. Sorry.

Federal financial fraud is definitely taken more seriously than other white collar crime, and that isn't just Texas talkin'.

SiL

AlphaCentauri · **Joined:** Thu Mar 01, 2007 3:01 am **Posts:** 5915

spamislame wrote:

Ohhhh hehe. :oops:

That was not obvious to me. Sorry.

I wasn't sure -- it might have been one of those things like "Rx" that's a common expression in one country and unknown in another.

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Unprecedented 25-Year Sntnce. Sought for TJX Hacker (got 20)

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