Idaho Man Sentenced for Computer Hacking and Extortion Scheme

An Idaho man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for hacking into the computer servers of 19 victims across the United States, stealing personally identifiable information (PII) belonging to more than 132,000 people, and attempting to extort a Florida orthodontist for payment in Bitcoin by threatening to disclose stolen patient records and other PII.

According to court documents, in June 2017, Robert Purbeck, 45, of Meridian, purchased access to the computer server of a Griffin, Georgia, medical clinic on a darknet marketplace. He then used the stolen credentials to illegally access the computers of the medical clinic and removed records that contained sensitive PII for over 43,000 individuals, including names, addresses, birth dates, and social security numbers. In February 2018, Purbeck purchased access to a City of Newnan, Georgia, Police Department server on a darknet marketplace. Purbeck used the stolen credentials to hack into the City of Newnan computer systems and stole police reports and other documents, including PII for over 14,000 people.

Purbeck also attempted to extort a Florida orthodontist in July 2018, demanding a ransom payment in Bitcoin in return for his stolen patient files, threatening to sell the patient and personal information unless the orthodontist paid the ransom. Additionally, Purbeck threatened to sell the PII of the orthodontist’s minor child. Purbeck harassed the orthodontist and his patients for 10 days with numerous threatening emails and text messages.

On Aug. 21, 2019, the FBI executed a federal search warrant at Purbeck’s home in Meridian. During the search, the FBI seized multiple computers and electronic devices, which contained personal information of over 132,000 individuals, obtained through Purbeck’s numerous data breaches.

On March 19, Purbeck pleaded guilty to two counts of intentionally accessing and obtaining information from a protected computer without authorization.

In addition to his term of imprisonment, Purbeck was ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution to his victims in the amount of $1,048,702.98.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Sean Burke of the FBI Atlanta Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Atlanta Field Office investigated the case, with valuable assistance provided by the FBI Boise Resident Agency.

Trial Attorney Brian Mund of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Herskowitz, Nathan Kitchens, and Alex R. Sistla for the Northern District of Georgia prosecuted the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho also provided valuable assistance in this case.