Wilkes-Barre Man Pleads Guilty To Computer Hacking Offense

SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Justin Bodnar, age 29, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on August 24, 2018, before U.S. District Court Senior Judge James M. Munley to the charge of unauthorized access to a computer.

According to United States Attorney David J. Freed, Bodnar admitted that he “hacked” into a computer belonging to another individual and thereby obtained the e-mails of that individual.  Bodnar then offered to sell copies of the e-mails to a third person.  As a result of that conduct, Bodnar was indicted by a grand jury in December 2016.

Judge Munley ordered a presentence report to be completed.  Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.        

The matter was investigated the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).  Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara is prosecuting the case.

A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

The maximum penalty under federal law is up to five years in prison, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.  Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.