Guilty plea in massive computer hacking scheme

In what's being called the largest identity theft case in U.S. history, a Miami man pleaded guilty last week to charges that he hacked into the computers of some of the nation's biggest retailers and stole information on more than 40 million credit and debit cards. Albert Gonzalez, 28, admitted that he had engaged in computer fraud and aggravated identity thefts targeting such retailers as Office
Max, Boston Market and Barnes & Noble.

He made off with a huge cache that included millions of dollars that bought him a condominium, a BMW, a Tiffany diamond ring and Rolex watches. In a case resembling a spy novel, authorities found more than $1 million in cash that he buried in a container in his backyard.

As part of his guilty plea, Gonzalez agreed to forfeit more than $2.7 million as well as real estate and personal property. He faces up to 25 years in prison.

Gonzalez still faces in charges in New Jersey where he's been indicted along with two Russian co-conspirators for allegedly hacking into computer systems at Heartland Payment Systems, a New Jersey-based card payment processor, 7-Eleven and Hannaford Brothers Co., a Maine supermarket chain.

For more on this hacking case:
- see this Bizjournal.com article

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