Oct. 20, 2006

 

HACKER GETS 5-YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON

WICHITA, KAN. – A hacker working from a desktop computer in Wichita who accessed more than a dozen U.S. Army computers and compiled credit card numbers and account information for more than 500 cardholders has been sentenced to five years in federal prison.

Matthew R. Decker, 21, Wichita, Kan., was sentenced to 60 months after pleading guilty to one count of accessing a protected computer and one count of possession of unauthorized credit card account access devices. He was sentenced during a hearing Oct. 16 before U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten.

“Investigators have identified credit card victims defrauded by Mr. Decker in a total amount of $12,557,” said U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren. “The costs to the U.S. Army in terms of responding to the computer theft, conducting damage assessment and restoring data and programs is another $25,000.”

Decker pleaded guilty July 31. In his plea, he admitted he used a computer in his home in Wichita to access 13 different U.S. Army computers on 17 different occasions from Nov. 21 to Nov. 23, 2003. The computers, which were used exclusively for U.S. government business, were located at Fort Monroe, Va.

On Jan. 12, 2005, a search warrant executed at Decker’s apartment in southeast Wichita provided evidence that he had stored more than 500 credit card numbers on his computer and had used 250 to 300 credit cards in a scheme to defraud credit card companies. At the time, he told investigators he had hacked the computers in order to defraud the credit card companies. Forensic examination revealed that in addition to 531 Visa and Mastecard account numbers, Decker also obtained full account information including name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, work numbers and home phone numbers.

Army Criminal Investigation Division, and the U.S. Secret Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Metzger and Assistant U.S. Attorney Annette Gurney prosecuted.

 

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