Three residents of Pittsburgh have been indicted by a federal grand jury in
Pittsburgh on cyber crime charges, United States Attorney David J. Hickton
announced today.
The five-count superseding indictment, returned on June 6 and unsealed today,
named Matthew James West, 20, of 116 Sanford Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
15204; Jonathan Cunningham, 28, and his wife, Alyson Cunningham, 24, both of 232
Augusta Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15211, as the defendants.
According to the superseding indictment, West was an associate of Alyson and
Jonathan Cunningham who had an interest in computer hacking and identified himself as an
associate of the computer hacking
collective “Anonymous.” On or about November 28, 2011, Alyson Cunningham was
terminated from her employment with a law firm “VG.” That same day West,
assisted by Jonathan and Alyson Cunningham, hacked into the computer server at VG and installed software
that could be used to capture passwords of anyone on the firm’s network. On or
about November 29, 2011, West provided personal financial information of
Alyson’s former workers at VG to Jonathan Cunningham in violation of federal
law.
The defendants were arrested this morning and made an initial appearance in
federal court before Magistrate Judge Maureen Kelly. Arraignments are scheduled
for June 29 at 10 a.m. before Magistrate Judge Cynthia Eddy. The defendants were
released on $10,000 unsecured bond.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 26 years in prison, a fine
of $1.1 million, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual
sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the
prior criminal history, if any, of the defendants.
Assistant United States Attorney James T. Kitchen is prosecuting this case on
behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation leading to
the indictment in this case.
An indictment is an accusation. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and
until proven guilty.
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