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Hackers' Indictment Alleges Theft of 130M Credit Cards

By Joel Zand on August 18, 2009 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Alberto Gonzalez, a hacker previously charged in at least 3 other federal cases, was indicted by a federal grand jury in New Jersey yesterday on charges alleging that he and two co-conspirators located in Russia, hacked and stole the credit and debit card information of 130 million people.

The indictment alleges that people affected had their transactions processed by Heartland Payment Systems, Inc., one of the largest credit and debit card processing companies in the world, and 7-Eleven,, and Hannaford Brothers supermarkets.

 You can read yesterday's federal grand jury indictment in the latest hacking case here:

 

Gonzalez was first arrested by federal authorities in 2003 on charges accusing him of having "more than fifteen counterfeit and unauthorized access devices" in his possession. He reportedly cut a deal and agreed to become a federal informant for the Secret Service.

Federal authorities restricted his movement to New York and New Jersey from 2003 until November 2004 when federal pretrial services and the U.S. Government authorized his move to Florida where he was supposed to remain under the supervision of the U.S. Probation office in Miami (see below).

Apparently, Gonzalez committed a host of crimes while on parole.

He was subsequently charged by federal prosecutors in New York with "actively collecting customers' credit and debit card account information" in 2007 from the Dave & Busters restaurant chain. The indictment in that case (see below) alleges that Gonzalez stole private customer information from some 675 credit and debit cards used at the restaurant chain, and those thefts resulted in approximately $600,000 in unauthorized purchases around the world.

Gonzalez is expected to stand trial in New York in the fall of 2009 on those charges: 

The U.S. Attorney in Massachusetts also charged Gonzalez and others in 2008 with identity theft, money laundering, unlawful hacking, credit and debit card fraud, and wire fraud,

According to the Massachusetts federal indictment (see below), Gonzalez and other co-conspirators went 'wardriving' around Miami (i.e., driving around with a laptop computer to locate and access wireless networks), to acquire customer credit and debit card information from stores like BJ's Wholesale Club, DSW, OfficeMax, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority, and The TJX Companies.

The Massachusetts federal case accuses Gonzalez of carrying out these crimes over roughly a four to five-year period between 2003 and 2007 -- a time when Gonzalez was supposed to have still been on probation for his 2003 federal charges.

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