Middletown Man Sentenced To Six Months of Home Confinement For Damaging Former Employer's Computer Network

 WILMINGTON, Del. – David C. Weiss, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced today that Levii Delgado, 36, of Middletown, was sentenced today to six months of home confinement and over $13,000 in restitution by the Honorable Leonard P. Stark, Chief United States District Judge for the District of Delaware.  Delgado pled guilty in February 2021 to one count of causing damage to a protected computer.

According to court documents, Delgado worked as an Information Technology (IT) administrator at a medical center that provides care to under-served communities.  The medical center terminated Delgado’s employment in August 2017.  Following that termination, Delgado was no longer authorized to access the medical center’s computer network and his credentials that had allowed him to access the medical center’s network were disabled.  Four days after his termination, Delgado connected a personal laptop to the medical center’s computer network through an administrator account that Delgado continued to use without authorization.  Once Delgado gained unauthorized access to the computer network, he caused the deletion of the medical center’s employee user accounts, the disabling of its computer accounts, and the deletion of its file server.  Delgado’s actions prevented the medical center’s employees from logging into their computers and accessing patient files necessary to conduct operations.  As a result, the medical center’s ability to see and treat its patients was impaired.

No patient information was compromised or accessed as a result of Delgado’s actions.

U.S. Attorney Weiss stated, “The defendant abused his knowledge of his former employer’s computer network to deliberately disrupt the medical center’s capability to conduct business.  As a result, the defendant directly impeded that entity’s ability to provide medical care to the communities it serves, putting patients at risk. My office is committed to prosecuting any individual who thinks attacking a former employer’s computer network is an acceptable reaction to getting fired.”

“What Mr. Delgado did was not only intentional, reckless and petty, but also caused a severe disruption in medical care in an underserved community,” said Rachel Byrd, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. “Computer intrusion is a crime and the FBI, and our law enforcement partners, will continue to pursue those who compromise, mishandle or disrupt computer networks.”

This case was investigated by the FBI-Baltimore Division’s Cyber Task Force and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jesse S. Wenger.

Cyberattacks are on the rise.  A private sector entity that is a victim of a cyber incident can receive assistance from government agencies, which are prepared to investigate the incident, mitigate its consequences, and help prevent future incidents. Federal Government agencies work together to leverage their collective response expertise, apply their knowledge of cyber threats, preserve key evidence, and use their combined authorities and capabilities to minimize asset vulnerability and bring malicious actors to justice. Private sector entities are encouraged to report a cyber incident to the FBI at 1-800-CALLFBI (225-5324) or file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at www.ic3.gov.