Ex-State Department Worker Admits to Snooping on Celebs’ Passports

Former State Department administrative assistant Dwayne F. Cross has pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia to illegally accessing hundreds of confidential passport application files, federal prosecutors announced.

Cross, 41, from Upper Marlboro, Md., admitted that over a six-year period, he accessed and viewed the personal information of more than 150 celebrities, actors, musicians, comedians, models, politicians, athletes, media members, and their associates. The data, including photographs and detailed personal information, was housed in the Passport Information Electronic Records System (PIERS), which Cross had access to during his employment.

According to court documents, Cross served as an administrative assistant at the Bureau of Consular Affairs from 2001 to 2008, with a brief return in 2008 as a contract employee. His unauthorized access to PIERS was not for official government purposes but out of idle curiosity, he admitted.

This marks the second former State Department employee to be caught in the ongoing investigation into confidential data breaches. Lawrence C. Yontz, another ex-employee, pleaded guilty and received 12 months of probation for similar offenses in 2008.

Cross’s sentencing is scheduled for March 23, 2009, after which he will likely face substantial penalties for his crime. Federal prosecutors are currently handling the case, with Trial Attorney Armando O. Bonilla leading the prosecution, and the State Department Office of Inspector General conducting the investigation.

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