Dariusz J. Prugar, Computer Hacking, Pennsylvania 2023

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania - A New York man has been convicted of computer hacking and wire fraud after a week-long trial in Harrisburg.

Dariusz J. Prugar, 32, of Syracuse, New York, was found guilty of computer fraud and wire fraud after a federal jury delivered its verdict on Friday.

According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, Prugar was the network administrator for Pa Online, an internet service provider formerly located in Enola, Pennsylvania.

Prugar was fired by Pa Online in June 2010, but days later he secretly hacked into the business's computer network, causing files and directories to be erased and ultimately causing the network to crash.

The outage lasted for approximately a week, affecting over 5,000 residential customers and over 500 business customers.

Former employees, outside consultants, and former clients of Pa Online testified to the impact the outage had on the business and its customers.

Prugar also installed numerous 'backdoor' entry points into the network so that he could access the network again.

Prugar is currently out on bail and no date has been set for sentencing.

A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

The maximum penalty under federal law is 30 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdpa/pr/new-york-man-convicted-computer-hacking-internet-service-provider