TJX gang leader sentenced to five years

gallery

The leader of an identity theft gang in Florida who used credit card details stolen from TJX customers has been jailed for five years.

Irving Escobar, who in March pleaded guilty to charges of leading an 'organised scheme to defraud' using data stolen from the US parent of UK high-street retailer TK Maxx, was sentenced and fined $600,000 (£298,909), according to the Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum said late last week.

McCollum called the activities of Escobar and five other defendants, including Escobar's mother, "a modern-day version of money laundering," as the gang was able to redeem $3-million worth of gift cards bought with counterfeit credit cards traced back to the TJX hack.

Escobar's co-defendants were given probationary sentences after also pleading guilty to similar charges and grand theft last month, while his mother has been deported Venezuela.

The Attorney General's office said it was unlikely that TJX may "never be possible to determine the exact number of individuals whose personal information was stolen".

And the network of criminals linked to the largest hack of its kind has spread as far as Turkey where, only last month, Turkish authorities arrested a man suspected of selling and distributing data traced back to TJX for fraudulent purposes.

Criminal gangs systematically stole some 45 million customer details from the financial systems of US retailer, TJX during 2005 and 2006, reportedly gaining access through its wireless large area network (LAN).

The costs of the breach continue to mount, with some estimates putting the total damage to TJX's finances in the region of $1 billion (£502.5m).

Email to a friend

Print this page