Federal Court sentences hacker Walter Delgatti to 20-year prison term
The Brazilian Federal Court has sentenced hacker Walter Delgatti to 20 years in prison as part of Operation Spoofing, initiated by the federal police in 2019. Judge Ricardo Leite, of the 10th Federal Court in Brasília, delivered the verdict, which was released on Monday (Aug. 21) and is subject to appeal.
Delgatti was detained in 2019 on suspicion of hacking into Telegram accounts of prominent figures, including former Justice Minister Sérgio Moro, former Economy Minister Paulo Guedes, and former prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol, a member of the Operation Car Wash task force, which conducted a comprehensive investigation into corruption cases involving government officials, politicians, and state employees.
Verdict
In his judgment, the judge asserted that Delgatti had attempted to sell the pilfered Operation Car Wash conversations to the media for BRL 200,000, countering the hacker's claims that he breached the conversations to "combat injustices" purportedly committed during the operation.
"It was only after encountering journalists' reluctance to pay for access to this material that Walter Delgatti's eagerness to exchange the material for cash began to wane," the judge wrote.
Additionally, the sentence outlines that Delgatti acquired bank details from various victims and peddled the ill-gotten information on specialized criminal forums.
"To gain insight into Walter Delgatti's fraudulent techniques, a recorded conversation reveals Delgatti posing as the individual responsible for a financial institution's technical and security domain. He guides a bank customer through the installation of a malicious program by updating the customer's computer," the judge concluded.
Arrest
Earlier this month, Delgatti was rearrested by the federal police, this time in connection with another probe involving the hacking of the National Council of Justice's electronic systems. The hacker is alleged to have issued a bogus arrest warrant against Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
The police investigation is exploring the involvement of federal representative Carla Zambelli from the Liberal Party in the council's hacking, which, as per Delgatti, was executed at her request.
