The hacker, known as TheDearthStar and Dearthy Star, pleaded guilty to gaining access to the databases of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and stealing the personally identifiable information (PII) and W-2 information of approximately 65,000 UPMC employees. The judge has handed him the maximum sentence for the offenses and will serve 7 years in jail.
Sean Johnson hacked into the databases of UPMC in 2013 and 2014. The Michigan hacker stole highly sensitive information such as names, social security numbers, addresses, and salary information of thousands of UPMC employees. Then he sold it on dark web hacking forums for identity thieves to file fraudulent tax returns.
Johnson also conducted further cyberattacks between 2014 and 2017 and stole the PII of an additional 90,000 individuals. In total, the identity thieves filed fraudulent tax returns costing $2.2 million. They converted received funds to Amazon gift cards and used them to purchase high-value goods with delivery to Venezuela. The Internal Revenue Service dispersed around $1.7 million. Johnson received the maximum sentence despite pleading guilty to the hacking charges due to the severity of the offenses and the impact they had on the lives of his victims.
TheDeathStar Had Co-conspirators in Personally Identifiable Information Stealing
There are 3 other hackers in the PII stealing of UPMC. In April 2017, Cuban national Yolandy Perex Llanes pleaded guilty to money laundering and aggravated identity theft. The judge sentenced him in 2017 to 6 months of time served.
Then the hacker from Washington, Justin A. Tollefson pleaded guilty to four counts of using the stolen identities of UPMC workers to register fraudulent tax returns. He had purchased the PII on a dark web forum and used the data to file fraudulent tax returns in the designations of four UPMC employees. The IRS paid $56,333 for income tax refunds, but the Police had arrested Tollefson before he received any funds. The judge was lenient and sentenced him to 3 years of probation because Tollefson had not profited from the fraud.
Maritza Maxima Soler Nodarse also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States in July 2017 for her role in the identity theft and tax fraud crimes. She received a 16-month time-served sentence and deportation to Venezuela.
“Information compromise and identity theft victimize not only the individuals whose information is stolen but also threaten our collective global security. I am immensely proud of the agents involved in bringing a just end to these crimes.”
U.S. Secret Service Pittsburgh Field Office Special Agent in Charge Timothy Burke.
