Alleged data breach kingpin had plenty of help

18.08.2009
Albert Gonzalez, whom federal prosecutors are calling the mastermind behind the biggest data breaches in U.S history, had plenty of help in pulling off his spectacular heists.

Gonzalez was , along with two unidentified Russian citizens on charges related to the massive data thefts at , and three other companies.

Gonzalez, who used the online nicknames soupnazi and segvec, is alleged to have masterminded an international operation that stole a staggering 130 million credit and debit cards from these companies.

He and 10 other individuals had already been previously indicted in May 2008 on charges related to similar intrusions at numerous other retailers, including Dave & Busters, BJ's Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority, Forever 21 and DSW.

It's unclear how much money exactly Gonzalez made from his "operation get rich or die tryin," but it was apparently enough to support a lavish lifestyle. Court documents filed in connection with his previous indictments talk about Gonzalez once throwing a $75,000 birthday party for his cohorts.

Another time he is alleged to have complained to one of accomplices about how his money counting machine had broken and how he needed to manually count more than $340,000 in $20 bills that had been withdrawn from ATMs using fraudulent debit cards.