Key computer hijacker Jeanson James Ancheta jailed
A 20-year-old who prosecutors say hijacked computers to damage computer networks and send waves of spam across the Internet has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison.
Jeanson James Ancheta, a well-known member of the "Botmaster Underground" who pleaded guilty in January to federal charges of conspiracy, fraud and damaging US government computers, was given the longest sentence for spreading computer viruses, federal prosecutors said.
He was sentenced to 57 months in prison and three years of supervised release by US District Judge Gary Klausner, who also ordered him to pay $US15,000 ($19,500) in restitution to the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center in China Lake, California, and forfeit to the Government about $US60,000 in illicit gains.