Romanian man sentenced in hacking scheme that targeted N.J. businesses

Financial information, fingerprints from security firm taken in computer breach, according to federal prosecutors.

NEWARK -- A Romanian computer hacker was sentenced Thursday to three years in prison for orchestrating an identity theft scheme that stole data, including financial records and fingerprints from firms in the United States, New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Mircea-Ilie Ispasoiu, 31, of Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Romania, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty in Newark to charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Ispasoiu, who worked as a systems administrator at a large financial institution in Romania from August 2011 through February 2014, hacked into the computer networks of retailers, security firms, medical offices and individuals in a scheme to steal usernames and passwords, personal identifying information along with credit and debit card data, according to prosecutors.

Romanian admits guilt in massive identity fraud case out of N.J.

The hacking also compromised systems at a large security company, which conducted background checks on job applicants, the case revealed. Ispasoiu stole information about the applicants, including their fingerprints. According to court documents, businesses in the North Brunswick and Montclair-areas were targeted in the scheme.

The judge also sentenced Ispasoiu to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $907,204.88 in restitution. The U.S. Secret Service and Romanian authorities arrested Ispasoiu in 2014.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.