Romanian Cezar Butu, sentenced to 21 months over payment card hacks

A 27-year-old Romanian man was sentenced Monday to 21 months in prison after admitting he was part of a group that stole payment card data from hundreds of computers belonging to merchants in the U.S.

Cezar Butu, of Ploiesti, Romania, pleaded guilty in September in U.S. District Court in New Hampshire to one count of conspiracy to commit access fraud. Prosecutors alleged Butu was part of a group that hacked into the payment systems of merchants as part of a multimillion-dollar scheme, stealing stored payment card details.