Rogelio Hackett Jr., 25, of Lithonia, Ga., was sentenced Friday in Alexandria, Va. by U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga. In addition to his decade-long prison term, Hackett was ordered to pay a $100,000 fine.
He pleaded guilty in April to one count each of access device fraud and aggravated identity theft after authorities executed a search warrant at his home and discovered the card numbers on his computers and storage devices.
“Hackett was in the business of hacking for profit and committed identity theft on a massive scale,” U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride said in a statement. “He was a full-time identity thief who expanded his business worldwide, affecting hundreds of thousands of people, banks and merchants.”
In a court filing, Hackett admitted that he had been trafficking stolen credit card information since at least 2002. He obtained the data by hacking into networks belonging to businesses and downloading it from databases, or by purchasing it on “carding forums,” where hackers buy and sell stolen credit card and other personal information.
He further admitted to selling the stolen data, manufacturing and selling counterfeit plastic cards, and using the information to purchase gift cards and other merchandise. The stolen card numbers in Hackett's possession were used in tens of thousands of fraudulent transactions.
Prosecutors said they hoped the sentence would serve as a deterrent for others who consider committing identity theft.
