Hacker broke into metro Atlanta computer servers, extortion plot sentenced to 10 years in prison

NEWNAN, Ga. — A man who hacked into the City of Newnan’s servers, along with a Griffin medical clinic has been sentenced to federal prison after stealing the personal information of 132,000 people, Department of Justice officials say.

Robert Purbeck, 45, of Meridian, Idaho “purchased access to the computer server of a Griffin medical clinic on a darknet marketplace.”

Officials say he then used the stolen credentials to illegally access the computers of the medical clinic and removed records that contained the sensitive personal information of more than 43,000 individuals, including names, addresses, birth dates, and social security numbers.

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“Purbeck’s crimes reflect the efforts of a callous and brazen cybercriminal who not only hacked into numerous computer servers and stole sensitive personal information from both private and public actors, but also threatened to extort many of his victims and disclose their data,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Thanks to the tireless work of law enforcement, Purbeck’s time of hiding behind a computer to steal, threaten, and intimidate is over.”

In February 2018, Purbeck purchased access to the City of Newnan Police Department’s server on the dark web and “used the stolen credentials to hack into the City of Newnan’s computer systems and stole police reports and other documents, including personal information of more than 14,000 individuals.”

Purbeck didn’t stop there, according to government officials.

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He then attempted to extort a Florida orthodontist for Bitcoin in return for his stolen patient files, “threatening to sell the patient and personal information unless the orthodontist paid the ransom.” Officials say he even threatened to sell the personal information of the orthodontist’s minor child.

Purbeck was sentenced to 10 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution to his victims in the amount of $1 million.

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