Expedia IT guy made $300,000 by hacking own execs
A former Expedia IT professional admitted on Monday to illegally trading on secrets he discovered by hacking his own company's senior executives.
Jonathan Ly stole passwords and infiltrated devices of Expedia's chief financial officer and head of investor relations, allowing him to make a series of "highly profitable" trades in stock options that scored him $331,000, according to prosecutors.
Ly, a senior IT technician in Expedia's Hotwire.com division, pled guilty to securities fraud in U.S. District Court in Seattle. The 28-year-old will have to repay the illegal profits he made from insider trading. Prosecutors say that between 2013 and 2016, Ly exploited his ability to remotely access electronic devices used by Expedia execs to access documents and emails containing confidential information.
