Editing Albert Gonzalez

{{Important}}
{{Villain_Infobox
|Image = Albert-gonzalez.jpg
|fullname = Albert Gonzalez
|alias = 201679996<br>cumbajohny<br>j4guar17<br>kingchilli<br>segvec<br>soupnazi<br>stanozlolz<br>UIN 476747
|origin = Cuba
|occupation = Computer criminal 
|type of villain = [[Crackers|Cracker]]
|goals = Get away with his crimes (failed)
|crimes = Credit card theft<br>Embezzlement<br>[[Money laundering]]<br>Fraud<br>Identity theft 
|hobby = Masterminding credit card theft<br>Counting money<br>Spending extravagantly
}}'''Albert Gonzalez''' (born 1981) is a Cuban-born [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_%28computer_security%29 computer hacker] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_criminal computer criminal] who is accused of masterminding the combined [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_card_theft credit card theft] and subsequent reselling of more than 170 million card and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automated_teller_machine ATM] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_card_number numbers] from 2005 through 2007—the biggest such fraud in history.

Gonzalez and his accomplices used [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SQL_injection SQL injection] to deploy [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Backdoor_%28computing%29 backdoors] on several corporate systems in order to launch [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packet_sniffing packet sniffing] (specifically, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARP_Spoofing ARP Spoofing]) attacks which allowed him to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_%28computer_security%29 steal computer data] from internal corporate networks.

During his spree, he was said to have thrown himself a $75,000 birthday party and complained about having to count $340,000 by hand after his [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currency-counting_machine currency-counting machine] broke. Gonzalez stayed at lavish hotels but his formal homes were modest.

Gonzalez had three federal indictments:
*May 2008 in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York New York] for the Dave & Busters case (trial schedule September 2009)
*May 2008 in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts Massachusetts] for the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TJ_Maxx TJ Maxx] case (trial scheduled early 2010)
*August 2009 in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey New Jersey] in connection with the Heartland Payment case.
On March 25, 2010, Gonzalez was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.

Gonzales along with his crew were featured on the 5th season episode of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNBC CNBC] series [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Greed American Greed] titled: Episode 40: Hackers: Operation Get Rich or Die Tryin’
==Early life==
His parents, who had immigrated to the United States from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba Cuba] in the 1970s, bought him his first computer when he was 8. By the age of 9, he was reported to be actively removing [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_virus computer viruses].<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Young_3-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-Young-3 [3]]</sup>

Gonzalez, a Cuban-American, attended [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Miami_High_School South Miami High School] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami,_Florida Miami, Florida], where he was described as the "troubled" pack leader of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerd computer nerds].<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-NYDN_4-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-NYDN-4 [4]]</sup> In his senior year at the school, he and friend used the library computer to hack into computer systems of the government of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India India]<sup class="Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed citation needed]'']</sup> where they left messages about their culture.<sup class="Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed citation needed]'']</sup> Reportedly India had to cancel government checks as a result.<sup class="Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed citation needed]'']</sup> Gonzalez was not charged and was warned to stay away from a computer for six months.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Young_3-1">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-Young-3 [3]]</sup> In 2000 he moved to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City New York City] where he lived for three months before moving to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kearny,_New_Jersey Kearny, New Jersey].<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-5">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-5 [5]]</sup>
==Shadowcrew==
Main article: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ShadowCrew ShadowCrew]While in Kearny he was accused of being the mastermind of a group of hackers called the Shadowcrew group, which trafficked in 1.5 million stolen credit and ATM card numbers.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-6">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-6 [6]]</sup> Although considered the mastermind of the scheme (operating on the site under the screen name of "CumbaJohnny"), he was not indicted.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-usdoj.gov_7-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-usdoj.gov-7 [7]]</sup> According to the indictment, there were 4,000 people who registered with the Shadowcrew.com website. Once registered they could buy stolen account numbers or counterfeit documents at auction or read “Tutorials and How-To’s” describing the use of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptography cryptography] in magnetic strips on credit cards, debit cards, and ATM cards so that the numbers could be used.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-usdoj.gov_7-1">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-usdoj.gov-7 [7]]</sup> Moderators of the website punished members who did not abide by the site's rules including providing refunds to buyers if the stolen card numbers proved invalid.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-usdoj.gov_7-2">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-usdoj.gov-7 [7]]</sup>

In addition to the card numbers, numerous other objects of identity theft were sold at auction, including counterfeit passports, drivers’ licenses, Social Security cards, credit cards, debit cards, birth certificates, college student identification cards, and health insurance cards.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-usdoj.gov_7-3">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-usdoj.gov-7 [7]]</sup> One member sold 18 million e-mail accounts with associated usernames, passwords, dates of birth, and other personally identifying information. Most of those indicted were members who actually sold illicit items. Members who maintained or moderated the website itself were indicted including one who attempted to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_registration register] the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.cc .cc] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_name domain name] Shadowcrew.cc<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-usdoj.gov_7-4">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-usdoj.gov-7 [7]]</sup>

The Secret Service dubbed their investigation "Operation Firewall" and is believed that $4.3 million was stolen as Shadowcrew shared its information with other groups entitled Carderplanet and Darkprofits. The investigation involved units from the United States, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgaria Bulgaria], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarus Belarus], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada Canada], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poland Poland], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweden Sweden], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Netherlands the Netherlands], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine Ukraine].<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-8 [8]]</sup> Gonzalez was initially charged with possession of 15 fake credit and debit cards<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-MiamiHerald_1-1">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-MiamiHerald-1 [1]]</sup> in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newark,_New_Jersey Newark, New Jersey], though he avoided jail time by providing evidence to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secret_Service United States Secret Service] against his cohorts. 19 ShadowCrew members were indicted.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-MiamiHerald_1-2">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-MiamiHerald-1 [1]]</sup> He then returned to Miami.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-usdoj.gov_7-5">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-usdoj.gov-7 [7]]</sup>
==TJX Companies==
While cooperating with authorities, he was said to have masterminded the hacking of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TJX_Companies TJX Companies] in which 45.6 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen over an 18 month period ending in 2007 topping the 2005 breach of 40 million records at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CardSystems_Solutions CardSystems Solutions].<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-TJX_9-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-TJX-9 [9]]</sup> Gonzalez and 10 others sought targets while [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wardriving wardriving] and seeking vulnerabilities in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_network wireless networks] along [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_1 U.S. Route 1] in Miami. They compromised cards at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BJ%27s_Wholesale_Club BJ's Wholesale Club], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSW,_Inc. DSW], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_Max Office Max], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Market Boston Market], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnes_%26_Noble Barnes & Noble], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_Authority Sports Authority] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T.J._Maxx T.J. Maxx].<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-DOJMASS_10-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-DOJMASS-10 [10]]</sup><sup class="noprint Inline-Template"><span style="white-space: nowrap;" title=" since July 2011">[''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot dead link]'']</span></sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-11 [11]]</sup>

The indictment referred to Gonzalez by the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User_%28computing%29 screen names] "cumbajohny", "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soup_Nazi soupnazi]", "segvec", "kingchilli" and "stanozlolz."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-DOJMASS_10-1">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-DOJMASS-10 [10]]</sup>

The hacking was an embarrassment to TJ Maxx, which discovered the breach in December 2006. The company initially believed the intrusion began in May 2006, but further investigation revealed breaches dating back to July 2005.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-TJX_9-1">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-TJX-9 [9]]</sup>

One of his co-conspirators was 7-foot-tall Stephen Watt, known in the hacker world as "Unix Terrorist" and "Jim Jones." Watt worked at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_Stanley Morgan Stanley] in New York City and wrote the sniffer program.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-12">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-12 [12]]</sup>
==Arrest==
Gonzalez was arrested on May 7, 2008, on charges stemming from hacking into the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_%26_Buster%27s Dave & Buster's] corporate network from a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_of_sale point of sale] location at a restaurant in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islandia,_New_York Islandia, New York]. The incident occurred in September 2007. About 5,000 card numbers were stolen. Fraudulent transactions totaling $600,000 were reported on 675 of the cards.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-D.26B_13-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-D.26B-13 [13]]</sup>

Authorities became suspicious after the conspirators kept returning to the restaurant to reintroduce their hack because it would not restart after the company computers shut down.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-D.26B_13-1">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-D.26B-13 [13]]</sup>

Gonzalez was arrested in Room 1508 at the National Hotel<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-14">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-14 [14]]</sup> in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miami_Beach,_Florida Miami Beach, Florida]. In various related raids, authorities seized $1.6 million in cash (including $1.1 million in plastic bags in a three-foot drum buried in his parents' backyard),<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-MiamiHerald_1-3">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-MiamiHerald-1 [1]]</sup> his laptops and a compact [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glock_pistol Glock pistol].<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-NYDN_4-1">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-NYDN-4 [4]]</sup>

Officials said that Gonzalez lived in a nondescript house in Miami.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-NYDN_4-2">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-NYDN-4 [4]]</sup>

He was in the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Detention_Center,_Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center] in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn Brooklyn] when he was indicted in the Heartland attacks.
==Co-Defendants==
Gonzalez had multiple US co-defendants for the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_%26_Buster%27s Dave & Buster's] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TJX TJX] hacks. The main ones were charged and sentenced as follows:
*Stephen Watt<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Stephen_Watt_15-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-Stephen_Watt-15 [15]]</sup> was charged with providing a data theft tool in an identity theft case. He was sentenced to two years and received a 171.5 million dollar restitution for his role.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Watt_Charge_16-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-Watt_Charge-16 [16]]</sup>
*Damon Patrick Toey pled guilty to wire fraud, credit card fraud, and aggravated identity theft and received a five-year sentence.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Patrick_Toey_17-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-Patrick_Toey-17 [17]]</sup>
*Humza Zaman pled guilty to conspiracy to money laundering and received a four-year sentence.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Humza_Zaman_18-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-Humza_Zaman-18 [18]]</sup>
*Christopher Scott pleads guilty to conspiracy, unauthorized access to computer systems, access device fraud and identity theft. He was sentenced to seven years.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Christopher_Scott_19-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-Christopher_Scott-19 [19]]</sup>
==Heartland Payment Systems==
In August 2009 Gonzalez was indicted in Newark, New Jersey on charges dealing with hacking into the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heartland_Payment_Systems Heartland Payment Systems], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citibank Citibank]-branded [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7-Eleven 7-Eleven] ATM's and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannaford_Brothers Hannaford Brothers] computer systems. Heartland bore the bulk of the attack in which 130 million card numbers were stolen. Hannaford had 4.6 million numbers stolen. Two other retailers were not disclosed in the indictment, however, Gonzalez's attorney told StorefrontBacktalk that two of the retailers were [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.C._Penney J.C. Penney] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_Corporation Target Corporation].<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-20 [20]]</sup> Heartland reported that it had lost $12.6 million in the attack including legal fees.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-21 [21]]</sup> Gonzalez allegedly called the scheme "Operation Get Rich or Die Tryin."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-MiamiHerald_1-4">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-MiamiHerald-1 [1]]</sup>

According to the indictment the attacks by Gonzalez and two unidentified hackers "in or near [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia Russia]" along with unindicted conspirator "P.T." from Miami began on December 26, 2007, at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heartland_Payment_Systems Heartland Payment Systems], August 2007 against 7-Eleven and Hannaford Brothers in November 2007 and two other unidentified companies.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-DOJNJ_22-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-DOJNJ-22 [22]]</sup> Gonzalez and his cohorts targeted large companies and studied their check out terminals and then attacked the companies from internet-connected computers in New Jersey, Illinois, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latvia Latvia], the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands Netherlands], and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine Ukraine].

They covered their attacks over the Internet using more than one messaging screen name, storing data related to their attacks on multiple Hacking Platforms, disabling programs that logged inbound and outbound traffic over the Hacking Platforms, and disguising, through the use of “[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxy_server proxies],” the Internet Protocol addresses from which their attacks originated.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-DOJNJ_22-1">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-DOJNJ-22 [22]]</sup>

The indictment said the hackers tested their program against 20 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti_virus_programs anti-virus programs].

Rene Palomino Jr., attorney for Gonzalez, charged in a blog on the ''New York Times'' website that the indictment arose out of squabbling among U.S. Attorney offices in New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. Palomino said that Gonzalez was in negotiations with New York and Massachusetts for a plea deal in connection with the T.J. Maxx case when New Jersey made its indictment. Palomino identified the unindicted conspirator "P.T." as Damon Patrick Toey who had pled guilty in the T.J. Maxx case. Palomino said Toey rather than Gonzalez was the ringleader of the Heartland case. Palomino further said, “Mr. Toey has been cooperating since Day One. He was staying at (Gonzalez’s) apartment. This whole creation was Mr. Toey’s idea...It was his baby. This was not Albert Gonzalez. I know for a fact that he wasn’t involved in all of the chains that were hacked from New Jersey.”<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-23">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-23 [23]]</sup>

Palomino said one of the unnamed Russian hackers in the Heartland case was Maksym Yastremskiy who was also indicted in the T.J. Maxx but is now serving 30 years in a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey Turkish] prison on a charge of hacking Turkish banks in a separate matter.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-24">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-24 [24]]</sup> Investigators said Yastremskiy and Gonzalez exchanged 600 messages and that Gonzalez paid him $400,000 through [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-gold e-gold].<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-MiamiHerald_1-5">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-MiamiHerald-1 [1]]</sup>

Yastremskiy was arrested in July 2007 in Turkey on charges of hacking into 12 banks in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey Turkey]. The Secret Service investigation into him was used to build the case against Gonzalez including a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sneak_and_peek_warrant sneak and peek] covert review of Yastremskiy's laptop in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubai Dubai] in 2006 and a review of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_image disk image] of the Latvia computer leased from Cronos IT and alleged to have been used in the attacks.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-25">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-25 [25]]</sup>

After the indictment, Heartland issued a statement saying that it does not know how many card numbers were stolen from the company and that it does not know how the U.S. government reached the 130 million number.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-26">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-26 [26]]</sup>
==Plea bargain==
On August 28, 2009, Gonzalez's attorney filed papers with the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_District_Court_for_the_District_of_Massachusetts United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts] in Boston indicating that he would plead guilty to all 19 charges in the U.S. v. Albert Gonzalez, 08-CR-10223, case (the TJ Maxx case). According to reports, this [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plea_bargain plea bargain] would "resolve" issues with the New York case of U.S. v. Yastremskiy, 08-CR-00160 in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_District_Court_for_the_Eastern_District_of_New_York United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York] (the Dave and Busters case).

On March 25, 2010, U.S. District Judge [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patti_Saris Patti Saris] sentenced Gonzalez to 20 years in prison for hacking into and stealing information from TJX, Office Max, the Dave & Busters restaurant chain, Barnes & Noble and a string of other companies.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-27">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-27 [27]]</sup> The next day, U.S. District Court Judge [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_P._Woodlock Douglas P. Woodlock] sentenced him to 20 years in connection with the Heartland Payment Systems case. The sentences were ordered to run [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentencing_%28law%29 concurrently], meaning that Gonzalez will serve a total of 20 years for both cases.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-28">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-28 [28]]</sup> Gonzalez was also ordered to forfeit more than $1.65 million, a condominium in Miami, a blue 2006 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_330i BMW 330i] automobile, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM IBM] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toshiba Toshiba] laptop computers, a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glock_Ges.m.b.H. Glock 27] firearm, a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia Nokia] cell phone, a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiffany_%26_Co. Tiffany] diamond ring and three [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolex Rolex] watches.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-NYTimesMag_29-0">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-NYTimesMag-29 [29]]</sup>

On March 25, 2011, Gonzalez filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Boston to withdraw his guilty plea. He claimed that during the time he committed his crimes, he had been assisting the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secret_Service United States Secret Service] seek out international cyber criminals and said his attorneys failed to advise him that he could have therefore used a “public authority” defense.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-30">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-30 [30]]</sup><sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-31">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-31 [31]]</sup> The Secret Service declined to comment on Gonzalez's motion, which is still pending.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-32">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Gonzalez#cite_note-32 [32]]</sup>

Gonzalez is currently serving his 20-year sentence at the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Correctional_Institution,_Milan Federal Correctional Institution, Milan], a low-security facility in Michigan. He is scheduled for release in 2025
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