LulzSec turncoat 'Sabu' dodges sentencing for second time

Cooperation with authorities, chapter two

Former LulzSec hacktivist turned supergrass 'Sabu' has dodged sentencing for a second time, presumably as a reward for his past or continued cooperation with the US Government.

Sabu, or Hector Xavier Monsegur to give his full name, was originally due to be sentenced last August on 12 counts of federal computer crime and hacking but was unexpectedly granted a six-month adjournment.

The latest sentencing delay in the New York court means Monsegur will now finally be sentenced a year later, in August 2013, although no date has yet been set.

Having pleaded guilty, in theory Monsegur faces a maximum of 124 years in prison but few believe it likely he will face even a fraction of that jail time.

Whatever the outcome, he will go down in the short but eventful history of the anti-sec movement for having turned against his own, using his nominal leadership of LulzSec to help the authorities identify the other members after his arrest in June 2011.

His lenient treatment so far contrasts with that of one of the alleged fellow LulzSec members he helped collar, Jeremy Hammond, who faces a 30-year sentence when he comes to trial accused of hacking information firm Stratfor in December 2011.

Most of the young and disproportionately British hackers Sabu helped catch have barely been heard from since but American Hammond could turn out to be the important exception to the rule.

In a letter published from his jail cell this week, he compared his prosecution to the tragic pursuit of dead activist Aaron Swartz. LulzSec is history but perhaps the youtful anti-sec movement Sabu and others were part of isn't ready to lie down yet.

Tags LulzsecPersonal TechStratfor

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