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PITTSBURGH (AP) — An Indianapolis man is the latest to plead guilty to participating in a cybercriminal marketplace where hackers schemed to cripple or steal information from computers and cellphones.
Thirty-one-year-old Phillip Fleitz entered his plea Wednesday in federal court in Pittsburgh. He faces up to three years in prison when he's sentenced Nov. 24 for conspiring to violate a law that makes it illegal to send out spam.
Authorities say Fleitz was part of a three-person team who used software to bombard people's cellphones with spam and break into routers in developing nations. Prosecutors say the team made $2,000 to $3,000 a week for their work.
Fleitz was one of 12 people who used Darkcode.com to market their hacking activity to be charged in the U.S. and the third to plead guilty.
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