Brick Man Gets Probation for ID Theft

A Brick man was sentenced in federal court to five years probation on an identity theft conviction.

United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer, sitting in Pittsburgh, Pa., imposed the sentence Monday on Tadas Petrauskas, 23, of Birch Drive, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania.

According to court records, Petrauskas – known as "Dr. Smurf" on the Internet – sold the user names and passwords of 39 employees of a data hosting center with approximately 10,000 customers, enabling the purchaser to access the data hosting center's computer systems.

U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton credited the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of the United States Postal Inspection Service, the National Cyber Forensics Training Alliance, the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the United States Department of Justice, and Lithuanian authorities, for the investigation leading to Petrauskas' prosecution.

Assistant United States Attorney Paul E. Hull handled the case on behalf of the government.