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Ex-IT worker who hacked former company's website gets prison

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Posted at 1:03 PM, Jul 09, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-09 16:03:38-04

LOS ANGELES (AP) - An Arizona man has been sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for hacking into computer systems operated by his former California employer and then deleting its website and marketing materials.

The Los Angeles U.S. attorney's office says Nikishna Polequaptewa was sentenced Monday and ordered to pay $53,305 in restitution to his former employer, Blue Stone Strategy Group, a Native American consulting agency.

Polequaptewa started working there in April 2014 but was relieved of some IT and marketing duties after falling behind on work.

He then deleted the company's website and marketing materials, costing Blue Stone more than $50,000 to restore its system.

In November 2018, jury found him guilty of one count of unauthorized impairment of the integrity and availability of data, programs, systems, and information.