Fansided

Former St. Louis Cardinals exec sentenced in Astros hacking case

ByPhillip Barnard|
May 30, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; A fan sits in the rain during a delay in the game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
May 30, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; A fan sits in the rain during a delay in the game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Former St. Louis Cardinals executive, Christopher Correa, will face jail time for hacking the Houston Astros computers.

It was just over a year ago, that the St. Louis Cardinals were accused of hacking into the computer database of the Houston Astros. As we all know now, that was indeed the case and there were actually multiple violations that were revealed. On Monday morning, former Cardinals scouting executive Christopher Correa may face at least three years behind bars for his role in the case.

Correa pled guilty in January to five counts of unauthorized access to records belonging to the Astros. According to a report from KSDK, he was sentenced to 46 months in prison and ordered to pay $279,038 in restitution. That judgement was handed down by US District Judge Lynn Hughes in Federal Court in Houston.

The Astros first learned of this issue two years ago, when GM Jeff Luhnow revealed that the team had been violated by hackers. They had accessed private servers and released confidential data regarding trade talks. Luhnow had previously worked with the St. Louis Cardinals before joining the Astros organization. Correa was also the scouting director for the Cardinals until he was fired last summer.

The original reports from the Houston Chronicle stated that St. Louis Cardinals owner, Bill DeWitt Jr., in an interview with the MLB Network, had acknowledged that his organization had played a role in accessing proprietary information belonging to the Astros, and blamed “roguish behavior” for the situation. The Chronicle had previously confirmed two other breaches into the Astros system before last year’s news. The first was in 2013, and another in March 2014.

The Chronicle also mentions that the Cardinals might have got access to the Astros’ 2013-14 ranking of draft eligible players and the bonuses they would have offered them.

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The FBI got involved and began its investigation after the 2014 breach. US Attorney Kenneth Magidson says the investigation involving the Astros is now complete, and there will be no further indictments.

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