Federal authorities announced the arrest of three men from Florida, Maryland and New Jersey, in connection to a large-scale computer hacking and identity theft scheme that used the personal information of millions of people and is alleged to have generated over $2-million in illegal profits. According to U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman, Tomasz Chmielarz of Rutherford, NJ along with Timothy Edward Livingston of Boca Raton, FL and Devin James McArthur of Ellicott City, MD have been charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit fraud and related activity in connection with computer and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Chmielarz and Livingston are also charged with conspiracy to commit fraud and related activity in connection with electronic mail.
As early as 2011, Livingston and others allegedly a business specializing in sending unsolicited or spam emails on behalf of clients. On average, Livingston charged $5 to $9 per spam email that resulted in a completed transaction for the client, according to federal authorities. Individual and corporate e-mail accounts were also controlled and software was created to leverage vulnerabilities in the websites of other corporate victims, allowing them to use the company’s email servers to send out spam that appeared to be from the company. According to the Attorney General’s Office, “The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.”