New York Paralegal Blog

A Nigerian man, Kingsley Uchelue Utulu, has been sentenced to 63 months in prison for his role in a sophisticated hacking and identity theft operation that targeted U.S. businesses and individuals, resulting in millions of dollars in losses. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, announced the sentencing on Friday, highlighting the collaborative efforts of law enforcement to bring offshore criminals to justice. The Scheme: Hacking, Stealing, and Cashing In According to court documents, Utulu and his Nigeria-based co-conspirators engaged in a wide-ranging scheme that began around 2019. Here’s a breakdown of their operation: Hacking Tax Businesses: The group targeted U.S.-based tax preparation companies with "spearphishing" emails to gain unauthorized access to their computer systems. Stealing Identities: Once inside, they stole the sensitive personal and financial data of thousands of American taxpayers. Fraudulent Tax Filings: Using the stolen info...

ATLANTA , June 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) is under fire after someone sent a lewd picture to a college student via his Twitter account.  The New York Congressman claims he was hacked; however, that claim is now up for debate. When the story first broke, the Democrat began joking about the hacking saying, "I wonder if my blender will be hacked next."  However, as the days progressed so did his temper.  "This was a prank that I've now been talking about for a couple of days.  I'm not going to allow it to decide what I talk about for the next week or the next two weeks, and so I'm not going to be giving any more information about that today," Rep. Weiner said in a press conference outside his Capitol Hill office Tuesday evening. Reporters have been questioning the validity of the hacking since Rep. Weiner did not report the hacking to law officers but did inform his attorneys.  He also initially denied being respons...

Defendants Allegedly Stole E-Mail Addresses and Personal Information Belonging to 120,000 Apple iPad 3G Subscribers NEWARK, NJ—Two self-described Internet “trolls” were arrested today for allegedly hacking AT&T’s servers and stealing e-mail addresses and other personal information belonging to approximately 120,000 Apple iPad users who accessed the Internet via AT&T’s 3G network, United States Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced. Andrew Auernheimer, 25, of Fayetteville, Ark., and Daniel Spitler, 26, of San Francisco, Calif., were taken into custody this morning by special agents of the FBI—each charged with an alleged conspiracy to hack AT&T’s servers and for possession of personal subscriber information obtained from the servers. Auernheimer was arrested in Fayetteville while appearing in Arkansas state court on unrelated drug charges, and is expected to appear this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Erin L. Setser in Fayetteville federal court. Spitler sur...

WASHINGTON- Albert Gonzalez, 28, of Miami, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to hack into computer networks supporting major American retail and financial organizations, and to steal data relating to tens of millions of credit and debit cards, announced Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Lanny A. Breuer, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Paul J. Fishman, U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Carmen Milagros Ortiz and Director of the U.S. Secret Service Mark Sullivan. Gonzalez, aka "segvec," "soupnazi" and "j4guar17," pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to gain unauthorized access to the payment card networks operated by, among others, Heartland Payment Systems, a New Jersey-based card processor; 7-Eleven, a Texas-based nationwide convenience store chain; and Hannaford Brothers Co. Inc., a Maine-based supermarket chain. The plea was entered in federal court in Boston before U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P....