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Hacker pleads guilty to stealing 2M card numbers

SAN FRANCISCO (7/1/09)--A hacker pleaded guilty Monday in Pittsburgh to charges of hacking into computer systems belonging to other hackers and financial institutions--including a credit union. The hacker, Max Ray Vision, stole two million credit card numbers and ran up charges of more than $86 million.

The breach affected Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover cardholders, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (June 29). Vision also hacked Pentagon FCU, Alexandria, Va.

Thousands of financial institutions suffered losses due to the breach, Luke Dembosky, assistant U.S. attorney, told the newspaper.

Vision pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud. He faces up to 60 years in prison and will be sentenced Oct. 20, the newspaper said.

Vision and a partner, Christopher Aragon, created CardersMarket.com to sell and use stolen credit card information, the newspaper said. The website had 4,500 members worldwide at its peak. Aragon and Vision participated in hacking activities from 2005 until their arrests in 2007.

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