Administrator of Darkode Hacking Forum Sentenced to Prison
The US Justice Department announced on Wednesday that a man who admitted being an administrator of a now-defunct cybercrime forum named Darkode has been sentenced to prison.
Thomas Kennedy McCormick, aka ‘Fubar’, a 30-year-old from Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been 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 multiple administrators. Authorities said he was one the last admins of Darkode, before the cybercrime forum was shut down by law enforcement in 2015. The law enforcement operation resulted in 70 people being arrested, searched, or charged.
Investigators said Fubar was involved in the distribution of malware, hacking websites, as well as the theft and sale of personally identifiable information, payment cards, and bank account credentials.
When they searched 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 had agreed to assist law enforcement in the prosecution of other Darkode members.
McCormick’s 18-month prison sentence is for RICO conspiracy (12 months) and aggravated identity theft (6 months) charges, to which the man pleaded guilty. He admitted that his involvement in the operation caused financial losses totaling nearly $680,000.
There have been a few unsuccessful attempts to resurrect Darkode after the takedown.
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