VoIP hacker admits to re-selling stolen services, faces 25 years in slammer

Edwin Pena, who has admitted to hacking into the computer networks of VoIP providers and re-selling their services faces a very stiff jail term.
2/8/2010 6:00:00 AM By: Sharon Gaudin and Robert MacMillan

A Miami man this week admitted hacking into the networks of several VoIP providers between 2004 and 2006 and then reselling millions of stolen minutes.

Edwin Pena, 27, of Miami, yesterday pleaded guilty in a Newark, N.J. federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit computer hacking and wire fraud, and one count of wire fraud.

Pena, who was returned to the U.S. last fall after being a fugitive for three years, is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton on May 14.

Pena, who faces up to 25 years in federal prison, continues to be held without bond.

"Anytime we bring a fugitive to justice, it's great," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Erez Liebermann, who prosecuted the case. "This was a sophisticated and very profitable operation.

This case sends a clear message to perpetrators that they can be caught and prosecuted, and to companies that there are steps they should be taking to secure their networks."

Between November 2004 to May 2006 Pena and a cohort -- Robert Moore, 24, of Spokane, Wash. -- hacked into the computer networks of multiple VoIP service providers and routed calls made by customers of Pena's VoIP service through them.

At his plea hearing this week, Pena, who had posed as a legitimate wholesaler of VoIP services as part of the scheme, admitted that he was able to offer cut-rate prices because he was routing them through hacked VoIP networks.

According to court records, Pena sold more than 10 million minutes of VoIP service that had been stolen from 15 telecommunications providers. Prosecutors valued the lost minutes at $1.4 million.

Prosecutors contend that Pena was the mastermind behind the scheme and that Moore hacked the systems.

In the fall of 2007, Moore pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit computer fraud and began serving a two-year prison sentence.

Page Navigation 1) Hacker pleads guilty to fraud in court. - Page 1
2) Suspect fled country when first released on bail. - Page 2
3) Hacked VoIP systems used to conduct phone-based phishing attacks. - Page 3

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