HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) – A contractor for the U.S. Coast Guard has pleaded guilty to stealing personal information from hundreds of computers and other electronic devices that he was supposed to be fixing.
34-year-old Larry Mathews of Pawcatuck waived his right to indictment and entered a guilty plea Wednesday in a Hartford courtroom. He faced a charge of “computer intrusion in furtherance of a tortious invasion of privacy.”
Mathews owned a computer repair business in Pawcatuck, and in 2008, he was employed as a civilian contract employee for the Coast Guard as a computer “help desk” technician. Court documents show that more than 250 times, Mathews copied personal information and files from computers and other electronics that had been brought to him for repair. The stolen information and files included account names and passwords, as well as sexually-explicit photos and videos. Investigators say Mathews only shared the stolen information with one person, who reported him to police in 2013.
Mathews is scheduled to be sentenced February 4, 2015. He faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
