David W. Kent Pleads Guilty to Hacking Competitor’s Database

David W. Kent, 41, of Spring, Texas, the founder of Oilpro.com, pleaded guilty today in Manhattan federal court to one count of intentionally accessing a protected computer without authorization. The admission caps a years-long cybercrime scheme in which Kent, a former executive at a New York-based professional networking site, repeatedly breached his competitor’s database to steal over 700,000 customer profiles and boost his own startup’s value.

Kent launched Oilpro in October 2013, just two years after leaving Website-1, a networking platform he founded in March 2000 and sold for $51 million to a publicly traded New York company, Company-1. While Website-1 catered to oil and gas professionals—storing resumes, login credentials, and personal data in a secure Members Database—Kent saw opportunity in sabotage. Between October 2013 and February 2016, he hacked into Website-1’s system, pulled confidential user information, and used it to aggressively recruit members to his new venture.

He didn’t stop there. One of Kent’s employees at Oilpro, a former Website-1 staffer referred to as CC-1, accessed Website-1’s Google Analytics account without permission and forwarded sensitive traffic and engagement data directly to Kent. This intelligence allowed Oilpro to mimic Website-1’s marketing strategies while Kent falsely claimed his growth came from legitimate outreach—a lie told during negotiations for Company-1 to acquire Oilpro.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara didn’t mince words: “David Kent has admitted to his role in hacking into a competitor’s network and stealing client data in order to boost the value of Oilpro, a company he founded. Kent then attempted to sell Oilpro to the very company he hacked.” Bharara called the act not just unethical, but a federal crime—one with consequences.

FBI Assistant Director William F. Sweeney Jr. echoed the warning: “Today, David Kent pled guilty to intentionally accessing a protected computer without authorization. This is a stern reminder to others that unauthorized access to a computer is a federal crime with severe penalties; even just a quick look at the data on the computer can lead to a prison sentence and that never leads to a leg up in business.”

Kent was arrested on March 30, 2016, and now faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for a later date before U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote. The case, prosecuted by the Southern District of New York, underscores the federal government’s aggressive stance on corporate cyber intrusions disguised as entrepreneurship.

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