Credit card thief: asperger's to blame

Post Reply New Topic

The judge has delayed sentencing Albert Gonzalez in Boston federal district court for three months, to give prosecutors time to assess the hacker's claim that he may suffer from Asperger syndrome.

Gonzalez's attorney hired a psychiatrist who determined that the hacker's criminal behavior "was consistent with description of the Asperger's disorder" and "Internet addiction," according to court documents.

Asperger syndrome is a mild form of autism. Sufferers' interests in specific subjects may border on the obsessive, according to the Autism Society.

Prosecutors assert that Gonzalez led a group of hackers who broke into computer systems and stole more than 170 million payment card numbers from data processor Heartland Payment Systems as well as retailers TJX Cos Inc BJ's Wholesale Club Inc and Barnes & Noble.

Gonzalez, a former government informant, has plead guilty to the charges. Yet he contends he was not the mastermind behind the attacks.

He faces a prison sentence of 15 to 25 years, and has forfeited $1.1 million in cash, a Miami condominium, a Glock pistol and several computers, according to court documents.

Gonzalez' attorney, Martin Weinberg, said in a court filing that he sought a minimum sentence because a psychiatrist had found that his client suffered from "diminished capacity."

The court has sealed the details of Weinberg's request.

Prosecutors said that the psychiatrist questioned the hacker's "capacity to knowingly evaluate the wrongfulness of his actions and consciously behave lawfully and avoid crime."

While in Kearny he was accused of being the mastermind of a group of hackers called the Shadowcrew group, which trafficked in 1.5 million stolen credit and ATM card numbers.[4]

Although considered the mastermind of the scheme (operating on the site under the screen name of "CumbaJohnny"), he was not indicted.[5]

According to the indictment there were 4,000 people who registered with the Shadowcrew.com website. Once registered they could buy stolen account numbers or counterfeit documents at auction or read “Tutorials and How-To’s” describing the use of cryptography in magnetic strips on credit cards, debit cards and ATM cards so that the numbers could be used.[5]

Moderators of the website punished members who did not abide by the site's rules including providing refunds to buyers if the stolen card numbers proved invalid.[5]

In addition to the card numbers, counterfeit passports, drivers’ licenses, Social Security cards, credit cards, debit cards, birth certificates, college student identification cards, health insurance cards, were sold at auction.[5]

One member sold 18 million e-mail accounts with associated usernames, passwords, dates of birth, and other personally identifying information.

Most of those indicted were members who actually sold illicit items. Members who maintained or moderated the website itself were indicted including one who attempted to register the .cc domain name Shadowcrew.cc[5]

The Secret Service dubbed their investigation "Operation Firewall" and is believed that $4.3 million was stolen as Shadowcrew shared its information with other groups entitled Carderplanet and Darkprofits. The investigation involved units from the United States, Bulgaria, Belarus, Canada, Poland, Sweden, the Netherlands and Ukraine.[6]

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.[7] Gonzalez and 10 others sought targets while wardriving and seeking vulnerabilities in wireless networks along U.S. Route 1 in Miami. They compromised cards at BJ's Wholesale Club, DSW, Office Max, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority and T.J. Maxx.[8] [9]

Gonzalez in the indictment was referred to by screen names of "cumbajohny", "soupnazi", "segvec", "kingchilli" and "stanozlolz."[8]

In August 2009 Gonzalez was indicted in Newark, New Jersey on charges dealing with hacking into the Heartland Payment Systems, Citibank-branded 7-Eleven ATM's and Hannaford Brothers computer systems. Heartland bore the bulk of the attack in which 130 million card numbers were stolen. Hannaford had 4.6 million numbers stolen. Two other retailers were not disclosed in the indictment however Gonzalez's attorney told StorefrontBacktalk that two of the retailers were J.C. Penney and Target Corporation.[11]. Heartland reported that it had lost $12.6 million in the attack including legal fees.[12] Gonzalez allegedly called the scheme "Operation Get Rich or Die Tryin."[1]

Gonzalez was arrested in Room 1508 at the National Hotel[19] in Miami Beach, Florida. In various related raids authorities seized $1.6 million in cash (including $1.1 million in plastic bags in a three-foot drum buried in his parents' backyard),[1] his laptops and a compact Glock pistol.[3]

Gonzalez could serve a term of 15 years to 25 years. He would forfeit more than $1.65 million, a condominium in Miami, a blue 2006 BMW 330i automobile, IBM and Toshiba laptop computers, a Glock 27 firearm, a Nokia cell phone, a Tiffany diamond ring and three Rolex watches.

No.... F**k him with a stick. His excuse is a complete copout to dodge the responsibility that he had in stealing from other people, in order to get out of jail sooner and most likely continue on with stealing from others.