Subway hackers plead guilty and accept 7-year, respectively 21-month prison sentences

Sep 18, 2012 07:34 GMT  ·  By
Two Romanians admitted to have hacked into the systems of hundreds of merchants from the US
   Two Romanians admitted to have hacked into the systems of hundreds of merchants from the US

Romanian nationals, Iulian Dolan, 28, and Cezar Butu, aged 27, admitted to having participated in a multimillion dollar scheme that targeted hundreds of merchants from the United States, including Subway restaurants.

Dolan agreed to one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit access device fraud, while Butu pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud, the US Department of Justice reports.

The suspects hacked into the systems of hundreds of companies from the US in order to steal payment card details. They utilized the information to make unauthorized charges and to fraudulently transfer money from the affected accounts.

Dolan and another accomplice, Adrian Tiberiu Oprea – also from Romania -, would scan the Web for vulnerable point-of-sale (POS) devices. Once such machines were identified, the crooks installed keyloggers that would allow them retrieve the valuable information at any time.

Unlike Dolan, who stole the details of around 6,000 payment cards, Butu didn’t actually participate in the theft. Instead, he urged Oprea to provide him with the necessary information and card data to make fraudulent charges.

He apparently acquired the details belonging to around 140 cardholders. Dolan agreed to a seven- year sentence, while Butu agreed to spend 21 months in prison.

The duo is not only famous for their crimes, but also for the way they were lured to the US by the Secret Service. Agents posed as attractive women in order to get them to go to the United States.

Authorities were waiting for them in airports and cuffed them as soon as they set foot on American soil.

The total losses caused by the suspects have been estimated at over $10 million (8 million EUR).