‘Dr. Smurf’ Sentenced to Five Years’ Probation for Identity Theft

PITTSBURGH—A resident of Brick, New Jersey has been sentenced in federal court to five years’ probation on his conviction of identity theft, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer imposed the sentence on Tadas Petrauskas, 23, of 164 Birch Drive, Brick, New Jersey.

According to information presented to the court, the court was advised that on or about July 16, 2008, Petrauskas, known on the Internet as “Dr. Smurf,” 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.

Assistant United States Attorney Paul E. Hull is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

U.S. Attorney Hickton commended 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 the successful prosecution of Tadas Petrauskas.