Zynga Poker Thief Gets Two Years in the Slam

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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Zynga Poker Thief Gets Two Years in the Slam


The hacker who stole $12 million worth of virtual poker chips from Zynga has been sentenced to two years in the slammer.

It was back in Zynga Poker [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/107497-Hacker-Steals-Virtual-Billions-From-Zynga] servers and stole billions of virtual poker chips worth a handsome $12 million. He then turned around and started selling them to Zynga Poker players on eBay at a deep discount, unloading about a third of them for roughly $85,700 before he was busted.

He pleaded guilty to four counts of "converting criminal property" and one count of "securing unauthorized access to a computer with intent to commit an offense," and claimed he was struggling with a gambling addiction that had cost him nearly $5000 on various online games.

Throwing himself on the mercy of the courts doesn't seem to have done him much good, however, as yesterday he was slapped with a two-year jail term. "People rely on computer systems," said Exeter Crown Court Judge Philip Wassall. "Anyone who has managed to get into these systems for their own ends should expect a stiff sentence."

Mitchell is also facing another 30 weeks inside for breaching a suspended sentence handed down in 2008 for hacking into his former employer's computer and stealing roughly $5700.

Source: eWeek Europe [http://www.eweekeurope.co.uk/news/online-poker-chips-thief-from-devon-jailed-24382]


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esperandote

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Feb 25, 2009
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He should do like that WoW guy and try to bribe the judge to get him free, with virtual chips that is.
 

JordanMillward_1

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May 19, 2009
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I guess that, when he ends up in a cell with a butch, huge-muscle-slab of a man called "Randy", we'll find out if we can read his Poker Face, P-P-Poker Face.
 

RA92

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Jan 1, 2011
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JordanMillward_1 said:
I guess that, when he ends up in a cell with a butch, huge-muscle-slab of a man called "Randy", we'll find out if we can read his Poker Face, P-P-Poker Face.
Dammit man, every reference to her is unholy! Cleanse yourself - come here, I'll help, let me burn you, it won't hurt a bit, I promise...

OT: Since it's rather trendy these days to foretell the death of gaming platforms, here's what I think...

OMG all these scams and identity thefts are going to kill off the casual MMO market lol rofl omg brb!
 

JordanMillward_1

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Raiyan 1.0 said:
JordanMillward_1 said:
I guess that, when he ends up in a cell with a butch, huge-muscle-slab of a man called "Randy", we'll find out if we can read his Poker Face, P-P-Poker Face.
Dammit man, every reference to her is unholy! Cleanse yourself - come here, I'll help, let me burn you, it won't hurt a bit, I promise...
I actually have a soft spot for her :p She's so bizarre she's cool...

*dons his flame-proof clothing*

But yea, seriously, how did that guy think he wasn't going to get caught?
 

Hungry Donner

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Mar 19, 2009
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I thought two years seemed a bit extreme until I got to the end and learned this wasn't his first offense. Yep, that'll do it.
 

FogHornG36

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Jan 29, 2011
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humm this might make a good movie, i mean people seemed to realy like them ocean's eleven movies, and people like the internet, it seems be an easy fit...
 

The Sane

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Apr 2, 2010
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If your going to screw Zynga, I support you. Just do it a little bit more subtly for goodness sake. Selling off vast quantities for a discount price on ebay was bound to get spotted.


Other than that, he deserves what he got, should have learnt after getting caught the first time.
 

ThreeKneeNick

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Aug 4, 2009
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Thats too harsh, zyngas losses were practically negligible, though theres that previous hacking incident.. I don't know what to make of this.
 

Valanthe

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Sep 24, 2009
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And once again Zynga proves that there truely is no honour amongst thieves ;)

In seriousness, kid was dumb enough to do something illegal, dumb enough to get caught, and now gets to face the music. Call off the Batman, justice is served.
 
Feb 13, 2008
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2 years for 12 million
2/3 of a year for $7500.

Disparity much?

So, let me see if I've got this correct. In the real world - He made forged chips, sold them at a discount rate, Zynga's security missed them and they were allowed to play with them.

No charges for the people buying heavily discounted chips, the servers/ISPs/forums providing them or the "guards" for being incompetent.

Another thing...how do "billions" of chips equal virtual millions, unless the chips have a value of less than a penny?
 

RowdyRodimus

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FogHornG36 said:
humm this might make a good movie, i mean people seemed to realy like them ocean's eleven movies, and people like the internet, it seems be an easy fit...
Have him also beat his wife/girlfriend and change it a bit so she turned him in and you have a Lifetime movie of the week.
 

FogHornG36

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Jan 29, 2011
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RowdyRodimus said:
FogHornG36 said:
humm this might make a good movie, i mean people seemed to realy like them ocean's eleven movies, and people like the internet, it seems be an easy fit...
Have him also beat his wife/girlfriend and change it a bit so she turned him in and you have a Lifetime movie of the week.
Oh good idea, and we could do another version were it turns out his wife is an alien, and we could sell it to the syfi channal