The court’s decision in the third pending case against Albert Gonzalez, the American considered responsible for the largest case of ATM card fraud in US history, is already known.
The judge sentenced «soupnazi» to 20 years in prison, in a sentence imposed in competition with that applied to the sentence that ended the other two cases (where he was also sentenced to 20 years in prison), which means that the computer only has to serve one of the sentences, rather than the sum of both.
The magistrate justified the decision with the understanding that it would be enough to dissuade other individuals with a special talent for technologies to follow Gonzalez’s example.
«You are just over 20, you will be in your mid-40s when you leave. It is a tremendous loss,» said the judge, quoted by the Associated Press.
In addition to the prison sentence, the hacker Miami will have to pay a fine of $ 25,000 (€ 18,560) and, when released, will be subject to a three-year probation period. In June, the court will also rule on the amount the defendant will have to pay as compensation.
Gonzalez, who had already admitted guilt on previous occasions, was aware of the implications of his actions, saying that he had harmed «millions of people in the USA». «I am guilty of the crimes and I take full responsibility for my actions,» added the 28-year-old computer scientist, when he asked for clemency.
The decision issued on Friday, March 26, ends a lawsuit involving the theft of ATM card data from the computer systems of the Hannaford Bros. supermarket chain, the 7-Eleven convenience store chain and Heartland Payment Systems. , an electronic payments service. According to the prosecution, data from millions of cards were stolen, with losses in the order of 200 million dollars (about 149 million euros).
The previous day, the Boston court had ruled on two other cases brought against Gonzalez, involving some of the top US retailers, including, for example, Barnes & Noble, TJX Cos., BJ’s Wholesale Club, OfficeMax or Dave & Buster’s restaurant chain.
According to the latest information available, the other two defendants in the case, and accomplices to Gonzalez, remain on the run.
