A Vermont man has received a probationary sentence after he admitted to operating an international hacking scheme that stole personal information from tens of thousands of people.
Judge Mary Kay Lanthier ordered Nicholas Moses of Newport to serve four years of probation during a hearing last week in federal court in Rutland.
Moses had earlier pleaded guilty as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors to a federal criminal charge of conspiracy to commit fraud through the use of computers.
Moses, who used the alias “scrublord,” according to a prosecutor, operated a computer malware program known as SmokeLoader out of servers in the Netherlands and used it “to harvest” data from victims from January 2022 and May 2023, according to court filings.
“Thousands of computers around the world have been infected with the SmokeLoader malware by Moses and over 65,000 victims have had their personal information and passwords stolen by Moses,” court records stated.
In an online chat session, according to court records, Moses stated he had sold the credentials and password of victims for $1 to $5 each.
“Moses’s victims, many of whom likely remain oblivious to the theft of their private information, may deal with the consequences of his actions in the form of unexpected and unauthorized charges or stolen and compromised identities for years to come,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugenia Cowles, the prosecutor, wrote in a sentencing document.
Emily Kenyon, a defense attorney for Moses, wrote in her sentencing memo that her client suffered from a troubled childhood and mental health challenges.
“In the community of hackers Mr. Moses fell in with online, he felt a sense of engagement with a community who shared his interests, and some of his struggles,” Kenyon wrote.
“In this world, unlike in the rest of his life, he was capable of and able to form connections,” Kenyon added. “However, in part fueled by his addiction, mania and impulsiveness, he ultimately made choices that were not consistent with his values.”
The charge against Moses carried a potential maximum sentence of up to five years in prison.
However, both the prosecutor and the defense attorney stated in their sentencing documents submitted to the judge their support for a probationary sentence in the case, largely citing Moses’ mental health and willingness to quickly admit his guilt.
