Hired hackers aided corporate lawsuits, federal indictment alleges
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Two private detectives in California are accused in a federal indictment of hiring computer hackers to obtain information from litigants in civil lawsuits.
Private detectives Nathan Moser of Menlo Park and Peter Siragusa of Novato are accused of hiring computer experts to hack into computers, email and Skype accounts. In one case, the indictment (PDF) says, hackers installed a keylogger to record the keys struck on a keyboard. The San Jose Mercury News and a press release summarize the allegations.
The information was designed to help clients of Moser and Siragusa, who had separate businesses but sometimes worked together, the press release says.
Moser and Siragusa are charged, along with one of Moser’s clients and two hackers, with conspiracy, accessing a protected computer, interception of private communications, and aiding and abetting.
The client, Carlo Pacileo, was director of security for network marketing company ViSalus. He hired Moser for help in a suit involving rival company Ocean Avenue, which had hired several ViSalus employees, the indictment says. Moser then enlisted Siragusa’s help, and together they hired the hackers, the press release alleges.
