“I gained unauthorized access to the computer systems of an auto supply company with the intent to defraud the company,” Monsegur admitted, “and fraudulently caused about $3,456 worth of automobile motors to be shipped to myself. I knew the conduct was illegal.”
He also admitted to using stolen credit card numbers to “pay my own bills” and to obtaining “names, Social Security numbers, and addresses of [bank] accounts and account holders.”
Some of this involved hacking; some did not. After a moment of confusion, the judge asked Monsegur to clarify how he had obtained bank account information and Social Security numbers.
“I downloaded the PDFs of TurboTax returns that were publicly accessible over Google, and that’s it,” he responded. “And due to the downloading of the PDFs, I had access to the bank account information, Social Security numbers, names, and all of that.”
“Great personal danger”
With that, the hearing came to a close, but it would leave no record in the court’s official docket. Not only were all documents around the case sealed, but the case itself was subject to “delayed docketing.” As the judge noted in her final remarks, “the facts here are sufficiently unique that it is possible that the defendant could be identified and, thus, be in great personal danger.”
As Monsegur left the courthouse and stepped out into Pearl Street’s August heat, he had a new secret—one that he would have to keep for the next seven months until his betrayal splashed onto the front pages of newspapers around the world.