• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechCybersecurity

Comcast Customers Among Those Hit in New Jersey Spamming Scheme

By
Reuters
Reuters
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Reuters
Reuters
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 16, 2017, 3:26 PM ET
Symbol E-Mail Spam
Getty Images

Three men have been sentenced for their roles in a wide-ranging hacking and spamming scheme that targeted personal information of 60 million people, including Comcast (CMCSA) customers, prosecutors said on Thursday.

Timothy Livingston, 31, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William Martini in Newark, New Jersey, on Tuesday to four years in prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from his role in a scheme that prosecutors said generated $1.3 million.

Tomasz Chmielarz, 34, and Devin McArthur, 28, were each sentenced on Thursday to two years of probation and ordered to pay restitution of $64,529, $7,070, respectively. Chmielarz must also pay a $3,000 fine, prosecutors said.

Their sentences were announced by the office of U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman in New Jersey. Their lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Prosecutors said Florida resident Livingston owned a spam company called A Whole Lot of Nothing LLC and hired Chmielarz of New Jersey to write computer programs that send spam in a manner that conceals their origin and bypasses spam filters.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Prosecutors said Chmielarz and Livingston hacked into email accounts and seized control of corporate mail servers to further their spam campaigns, and created software that exploited vulnerabilities in a several corporate websites.

Livingston, Chmielarz and McArthur, a Maryland resident, also worked together to steal databases containing the personal information of millions of Americans for use in spam campaigns, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said McArthur admitted that he also gave Livingston unauthorized access to a remote administration tool on a computer connected to the network of a Pennsylvania-based telecommunications company where he worked.

That enabled Livingston and Chmielarz to steal the personal information of customers of the company for use in spam campaigns, prosecutors said.

The company was not named in court papers, but Comcast has previously confirmed it was the firm involved.

Other companies targeted included a New York telecommunications company, a New York technology and consulting company, and a Texas credit monitoring firm, the indictment said.

About the Author
By Reuters
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.


Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Retail
Trump just declared Christmas Eve a national holiday. Here’s what’s open and closed
By Dave SmithDecember 24, 2025
20 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Trump turns government into giant debt collector with threat to garnish wages on millions of Americans in default on student loans
By Annie Ma and The Associated PressDecember 24, 2025
20 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Personal Finance
Financial experts warn future winner of the $1.7 billion Powerball: Don't make these common money mistakes
By Ashley LutzDecember 23, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Obama's former top economic advisor says he feels 'a tiny bit bad' for Trump because gas prices are low, but consumer confidence is still plummeting 
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 24, 2025
13 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Law
Disgraced millennial Frank founder Charlie Javice hits JPMorgan with $74 million legal bill, including $530 in gummy bears and $347 'afternoon snack'
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 23, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
'When we got out of college, we had a job waiting for us': 80-year-old boomer says her generation left behind a different economy for her grandkids
By Mike Schneider and The Associated PressDecember 23, 2025
2 days ago

Latest in Tech

Big TechTesla
Tesla faces NHTSA probe over Model 3 emergency door handles
By Dana Hull and BloombergDecember 24, 2025
11 hours ago
Arkeem and Ashley with their 6 children.
SuccessGen Z
Meet the millennial father of six who rebuilt his life through the trades—and questions America’s obsession with college
By Eva RoytburgDecember 24, 2025
15 hours ago
Vanguard CIO Nitin Tandon.
NewslettersCIO Intelligence
How investment giant Vanguard’s CIO is placing big tech bets today to create the AI digital advisor of tomorrow
By John KellDecember 24, 2025
16 hours ago
Calvin Butler, President and CEO, Exelon
EnergyUtilities
Utility CEO on the data center crunch: America’s ‘check engine light’ is on and ‘no one’s going to pay attention until it breaks down’
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 24, 2025
17 hours ago
Ali Ghodsi
AIVenture Capital
CEO of a $134 billion software giant blasts companies with billions in funding but zero revenue: ‘That’s clearly a bubble, right… it’s, like, insane’
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 24, 2025
17 hours ago
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio
PoliticsEurope
Trump administration bars 5 prominent Europeans from the U.S., accusing them of pressuring tech firms to ‘censor’ American speech
By Beatrice NolanDecember 24, 2025
19 hours ago