Ex-Navy IT manager gets 5 years in slammer for 2018 database heist

A erstwhile IT head for nan US Navy is facing a five-and-a-half twelvemonth situation condemnation for trading thousands of people's individual records connected nan acheronian web.

While still a main petty officer, Marquis Hooper accessed a database containing millions of records and complete nan people of 5 months sold specifications of much than 9,000 group online.

Prosecutors said nan full sum generated by Hooper and his wife, Natasha Chalk, co-defendant successful nan lawsuit and erstwhile Navy reservist, reached nan balanced of $160,000 successful Bitcoin.

The information sold online was past utilized by criminals. In 1 case, information was purchased, utilized to create a clone driver's license, which was past utilized successful an effort to retreat money from a bank.

Hooper's condemnation was acold little terrible than nan maximum he faced – 20 years successful situation and a good of $250,000.

The prosecutors' sentencing suggestions, arsenic reported by Law360, acknowledged Hooper's deficiency of criminal history and willingness to judge responsibility, but based on that owed to his subject position he "should beryllium punished harshly".

Inside nan crime

Court records indicated that successful August 2018, Hooper opened an relationship pinch an unnamed institution that runs a database from which he later went connected to steal.

Hooper falsely represented himself to nan company, telling it that he required entree to nan database's personally identifiable accusation (PII) to fulfill inheritance checks for nan Navy. The institution limits entree to its database only to businesses and authorities agencies that person a lawful logic to usage nan information it holds.

The institution closed Hooper's relationship successful December of nan aforesaid twelvemonth aft it suspected fraudulent activity was taking place.

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Hooper and Chalk unsuccessfully tried to summation entree to nan database again utilizing different relationship which they asked an unnamed, unindicted co-conspirator to unfastened connected their behalf.

Using nan aforesaid method Hooper had utilized months earlier, they instructed nan co-conspirator to unfastened nan relationship nether nan pretense that nan Navy required it for inheritance checks. He besides offered to salary them $2,500 for each period nan relationship remained open.

This was initially refused, pinch nan institution that ran nan database asking for a Navy proviso serviceman to motion a statement betwixt it and nan co-conspirator to beryllium that nan intended intent for nan relationship was legitimate.

Furthering their illicit activities, Hooper generated clone documents utilizing nan PII he stole from nan database successful a bid to person nan institution that nan signatory of nan statement was a genuine Navy proviso officer, a domiciled pinch nan authority to procure services.

Hooper and Chalk's attempts to unfastened nan 2nd relationship were unsuccessful aft submitting nan documents, which included a clone statement and driver's license, arsenic good arsenic a forged missive from a Navy commanding officer.

Chalk, facing nan aforesaid maximum condemnation of 20 years successful situation and a $250,000 fine, is owed to beryllium sentenced connected November 20. ®