Justin Sean Johnson, who allegedly hacked the human resource databases of University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and stole PII of over 65,000 UPMC employees, was arrested Tuesday morning in Detroit, Michigan. Johnson is alleged to have then sold employees’ Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and W-2 information on the dark web, resulting in the filing of thousands of false IRS tax returns. “Justin Johnson stands accused of stealing the names, Social Security numbers, addresses and salary information of every employee of Pennsylvania’s largest healthcare system,” said U.S. Attorney Brady. “After his hack, Johnson then sold UPMC employees’ PII to buyers around the world on dark web marketplaces, who in turn engaged in massive campaign of further scams and theft. His theft left over 65,000 victims vulnerable to years of potential financial fraud. Hackers like Johnson should know that our office will pursue you relentlessly until you are in custody and held accountable for your crimes.”
