June 30, 2006 10:16 AM PDT
Jail for ID theft mastermind
Andrew Mantovani, co-founder of identity theft hub Shadowcrew.com, was sentenced to two years and eight months in jail and fined $5,000 on Thursday, the Associated Press has reported.
Mantovani, 24, was one of 21 people in the U.S. arrested in October 2004 (more were nabbed overseas) when the federal government targeted Shadowcrew.com as part of a yearlong investigation. The site is believed to have contained 1.5 million stolen credit card numbers, and could be responsible for as much as $4 million in losses.
He pleaded guilty and was sentenced in Newark, N.J.
Caroline McCarthy, a CNET News staff writer, is a downtown Manhattanite happily addicted to social-media tools and restaurant blogs. Her pre-CNET resume includes interning at an IT security firm and brewing cappuccinos. E-mail Caroline. 
