FBI helps jail Howick internet hacker for 3 years

[Lite]

An east Auckland computer hacker, who scammed hundreds of thousands of dollars and attracted the FBI to New Zealand, has been jailed for three years.

Thomasz Grygoruk, 22, was jailed on five charges of blackmail, document and computer fraud when he appeared in the High Court in Auckland today.

Grygoruk spent five years and used an internet scam to get personal details from people to make ATM cards. He then used the cards to withdraw up to $300,000.

The court heard he also got into the email account of an American teacher in Pennsylvania and tried to blackmail him, threatening to disclose details of a relationship with a student unless he was paid $US10,000 ($NZ13,000). The relationship was not inappropriate.

Grygoruk had threatened to tell the teacher's local police and newspaper he was a paedophile who was romantically involved with the student.

View: Original Article