Christopher Correa, who is no longer with the club, pled guilty to five counts of illegally accessing the Astros computers between 2013 and 2014.
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In July, Correa was dismissed by the Cardinals and the Federal Bureau of Investigation recommends charges against Correa for violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Prior to joining the Astros in 2011, Luhnow had served as the Cardinals’ scouting director since 2003. Luhnow previously worked for the Cardinals in the same scouting director role Correa had, and Luhnow was part of the front office when Correa was hired. U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in a telephone interview after the hearing that Correa claims he found that the Astros had proprietary information belonging to the Cardinals. After his involvement came to light, Correa was initially given an imposed leave of absence by the team. Correa admitted to accessing the accounts of three Houston Astros employees, including information about prospects, Astros scouting reports and trade discussions.
A conviction of unauthorized access of a protected computer carries a sentence of up to five years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 fine.
The departing Cardinals employee, described as “Victim A” in court records, “reused a similar (albeit obscure) password for his Astros’ e-mail and Ground Control accounts”. Law enforcement thought the cyberattack was carried out with Jeff Luhnow, the Astros’ general manager, in mind.
Correa testified that his intention was to see if any former Cardinals personnel took any data with them after departing. Correa denied illegal activity when he was first investigated.
Internet activist Aaron Swartz committed suicide after the Justice Department charged him with criminal hacking under the CFAA for downloading documents from a research database.
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Cardinals Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. had blamed the alleged hack on “roguish behavior” by a handful of individuals. Only the New York Yankees have more World Series titles than the 11 won by St. Louis, which is among the best-drawing teams in all of sports.
