National Hack scheme to steal credit card information busted
National Hack scheme to steal credit card information busted
A second defendant was sentenced Thursday to more than two years in federal prison for his role in a scheme to hack into the Lowe's national computer system to steal credit card information.U.S. District Judge Lacy Thornburg sentenced Adam Botbyl to two years and two months. Another defendant, Brian Salcedo, was sentenced Wednesday to nine years in prison. Both of the 21-year-olds are from Michigan.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Martens told the judge the defendants tried to get data that could have caused huge economic losses for the Mooresville-based home improvement chain and its customers.
"The damage that could have been caused by these defendants would have been astronomical," he said. "The fact that it didn't happen wasn't because they retreated. It's because the FBI caught them in the act."
Botbyl, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, could have faced five years in prison.
"I would like to apologize to the court and to the victim, Lowe's," he told the judge.
Salcedo pleaded guilty in August to conspiracy, transmitting computer code to cause damage to a computer, unauthorized computer access and computer fraud. A third defendant, Paul Timmins, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty in the case.
