Michael J. Moore, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announced today that Drew Johnson, 27, of Columbus, Georgia, was sentenced to serve four years in federal prison for accessing personal information files. The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Clay D. Land, United States District Court Judge, in Columbus, Georgia on July 15, 2014.

On February 13, 2014, Mr. Johnson pleaded guilty to the charges. According to the plea agreement, Mr. Johnson admitted that in September, 2013, he accessed the personal information files, containing names; dates of birth; and social security numbers, of over 5000 employees of Total Systems Services (TSYS). At the time of the offense, Mr. Johnson was a temporary employee of Paragon, Benefits, Inc., a company which administers health benefits for various other companies, including TSYS. Having gained access to the personal files, Mr. Johnson then e-mailed a spread sheet containing the person information to his personal e-mail account.

“In today’s marketplace, we all entrust our personal information to a number of service providers. When we do that, we expect that information to be protected. Mr. Johnson violated that trust and, at least for the next few years, he won’t have the access or ability to get information that he has no right to obtain,” stated United States Attorney Michael Moore.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Melvin E. Hyde, Jr. represented the Government in the prosecution of the case.

Inquiries regarding this case should be directed to Pamela Lightsey, United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2603.