Indianapolis man pleads guilty in Darkode case

Robert AbelAugust 21, 2015

Phillip Fleitz of Indianapolis has become the third person in the U.S. to plead guilty in the Darkode cybercrime forum case.

Fleitz pleaded guilty on Wednesday in Pittsburgh federal court to violating laws prohibit hacking a computer to send unsolicited materials, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The report indicated Fleitz was part of a team that used botnets to flood cell phones with spam messages.

Fleitz faces up to three years in prison and will be sentenced on Nov. 24, the Associated Press reported.

Another member of the team, Naveed Ahmed, pleaded guilty on Tuesday, an earlier Associated Press report indicated. A third member, Eric Crocker, aka “Phastman,” pleaded guilty on Monday.

More than 70 individuals around the globe were arrested in July for their roles in the Darkode cybercrime forum, which facilitated the trading of malware, botnets and stolen data.

Robert Abel

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