Gonzalez’s story is an interesting one, winding from a lonely childhood where his computer was his best friend, to a “secret” job at a firm right out of high school, to a stint with the U.S. Secret Service. In 2003, Gonzalez was busted for a smalltime hacking job. The U.S. Secret Service saw some extreme talent in their suspect, and offered him a plea deal that included becoming an informant.
Gonzalez’ attorney claims that the government used him as a “machine” in order to find fellow hackers and bring them down. The attorney believes that Gonzalez’s computer addiction should have been treated by a therapist.
Now, this is where the story gets very interesting, and starts to remind me of the movie Hackers. It was sort-of a cult hit back in the day about a young man and his gang who have an affinity with computers and can basically hack into anything, anywhere, doing whatever they want. That was the life Gonzalez led from 2005 until he was busted.
Gonzalez reportedly threw himself birthday parties ranging from $75,000 dollars, used a cash counting machine to literally count the massive amounts of cash he had lying around, and lived the life of a bachelor in luxury by purchasing a beautiful condo.
Before 2008, authorities believed a scam in which he hacked 40 million credit cards was history making, until they learned the truth of his 170 million credit card scheme. Currently, Albert Gonzalez it sitting in prison where he only gets to use a computer when his lawyer comes to visit, and only to update paperwork and evidence for trial.
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