The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday that a man who admitted to being the administrator of a now-defunct cybercrime forum called Darkode had been sentenced to prison.
Thomas Kennedy McCormick, aka “Fubar,” a 30-year-old from Cambridge, Massachusetts, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for his role in running Darkode. The sentence also includes three years of supervised release.
McCormick, who joined the site as a member in 2009, ended up being one of several administrators. Authorities said he was one of Darkode’s last administrators, before the cybercrime forum was created. close by law enforcement in 2015. The law enforcement operation resulted in the arrest, search or charging of 70 people.
Investigators said Fubar was involved in distributing malware, hacking websites, and stealing and selling personally identifiable information, payment cards and bank account credentials.
During a search of his residence, law enforcement found the stolen credit card information of nearly 30,000 people in his possession.
The Justice Department said in 2022 that McCormick agreed to assist law enforcement in the prosecution of other Darkode members.
McCormick’s 18-month prison sentence is for charges of RICO conspiracy (12 months) and aggravated identity theft (6 months), to which the man pleaded guilty. He admitted that his involvement in the operation caused financial losses totaling nearly $680,000.
There have been some unsuccessful attempts to resurrect Darkode after removal.
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