Teenager Charged With Hacking 60K Betting Accounts On DraftKings

Federal prosecutors have charged an 18-year-old from Wisconsin for his role in a scheme that involved hacking tens of thousands of accounts on sports betting site DraftKings.

According to CNBC, federal prosecutors announced on Thursday that Joseph Garrison had been criminally charged for his involvement in the hacking scheme. This involved stealing the account information for 60,000 bettors in what they called a "credential stuffing attack."

Once he had access to the accounts, Garrison is accused of selling access to them. He allegedly sold access to around 1,600 accounts which lead to these accounts being drained of $600,000 altogether.

DraftKings doesn't appear in the criminal complaint against the Garrison by name. However, CNBC reports that the company confirmed they were compromised in the November 2022 attack.

Other sites were impacted around the same time. Both FanDuel and BetMGM reportedly saw an increase in unauthorized activity around the same time.

Authorities Found Evidence On Garrison's Computer And Cell Phone

Authorities searched Garrison's home back in February and found a slew of evidence implicating him in the scheme.

They searched his laptop and cellphone where they found credential stuffing programs and instructions on how to access stolen accounts. They also uncovered messages between Garrsison and others involved in the scheme.

In one of those messages, Garrison allegedly made it clear that he simply loves committing fraud.

Per the complaint, Garrison allegedly wrote to another conspirator that, “fraud is fun . . . im addicted to see money in my account . . . im like obsessed with bypassing s---.”

Prosecutors seem to have thrown the book at Garrison. He's facing an array of charges including conspiracy to commit computer intrusions, unauthorized access to a protected computer to further intended fraud, unauthorized access to a protected computer, wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

If convicted, he is facing a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison. However, it's believed federal guidelines would lead to him receiving less time if convicted.

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