Accused AT&T-iPad hacker Andrew Auernheimer in plea talks

“Andrew Auernheimer, accused of hacking into AT&T Inc servers and stealing the personal data of 120,000 Apple Inc iPad users, is in talks to plead guilty after his co-defendant did the same last month,” Jonathan Stempel reports for Reuters.

“Auernheimer was indicted on July 6 by a Newark, New Jersey federal grand jury on one count of conspiracy to gain unauthorized access to computers and one count of identity theft. His co-defendant Daniel Spitler pleaded guilty on June 23 to the same charges,” Stempel reports. “In an order on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton put Auernheimer’s case on hold, saying ‘plea negotiations are currently in progress and both the United States and the defendant desire additional time to finalize a plea agreement, which would render trial of this matter unnecessary.'”

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Stempel reports, “Spitler could face a 12- to 18-month prison term at his sentencing, scheduled for September 28.”

Read more in the full article here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]

Related articles:
AT&T iPad data hacker faces five years in jail – June 24, 2011
AT&T-iPad hackers’ site hacked – January 27, 2011
Two charged by U.S. prosecutors over iPad hacking via AT&T network – January 18, 2011
U.S. investigators set to press criminal charges over theft of AT&T iPad users’ personal info – January 18, 2011
AT&T apologizes for iPad email breach, blames ‘malicious hackers’ – June 14, 2010

10 Comments

  1. Apparently, the guy is represented by the public defender (i.e. he can’t afford a “real” lawyer for himself). Without any intention to disparage public defenders and the work they do, realistically, it is unlikely that such public defender (usually under a mountain of other cases, frequently just local street drug dealers caught in the act) would have enough time to research the case and uncover information that might help negotiate a better plea.

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