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Woodbridge Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Accessing Passport Files
A 65-year-old man from Woodbridge, Virginia, has pleaded guilty to illegally accessing numerous confidential passport application files, according to the U.S. government.
Gerald R. Lueders, a former Foreign Service Officer, pleaded guilty to a one-count criminal information charging him with unauthorized computer access.
Between July 2005 and February 2008, Lueders logged onto the Passport Information Electronic Records System (PIERS) and viewed the passport applications of more than 50 celebrities, actors, politicians, musicians, athletes, family members, members of the media, business professionals, colleagues, and other individuals identified in the press.
Lueders admitted that he had no official government reason to access and view these passport applications, but that his sole purpose in accessing and viewing these passport applications was idle curiosity.
This is the third time a current or former State Department employee has pleaded guilty in this continuing investigation. On Sept. 22, 2008, Lawrence C. Yontz, a former Foreign Service Officer and intelligence analyst, pleaded guilty to unlawfully accessing hundreds of confidential passport files. Yontz was sentenced on Dec. 19, 2008, to 12 months of probation and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service.
Lueders is scheduled to be sentenced on March 26, 2009.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Armando O. Bonilla of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section, headed by Section Chief William M. Welch II. The case is being investigated by the State Department Office of Inspector General.
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Key Facts
- State: District of Columbia
- Category: Public Corruption|Cybercrime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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