LOS ANGELES : Man Pleads Guilty to Role in Illegal Wire Transfer

Computer hacker Justin Tanner Peterson, who called himself “Agent Steal” and used his skills to obtain Porsches, trips to Hawaii and other luxuries, pleaded guilty to conspiring to cause a $150,000 wire transfer.

Peterson, who was handcuffed as he appeared before U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson, admitted that he conspired to transfer $150,000 from a branch of Heller Financial Inc. in Glendale to the Union Bank account of an as-yet unidentified co-conspirator in Bellflower.

He also admitted illegally possessing 40 passwords from accounts at Heller Financial, TRW and America OnLine.

Assistant U.S. Atty. David Schindler said that to cover up their crime, the conspirators telephoned two phony bomb threats so bank employees would evacuate the buildings at the time the money was transferred.

Peterson, a tall, slender 34-year-old whose flowing hair and stylish manner of dress contrasted with the stereotype of the computer nerd, once worked as a promoter at after-hours clubs in Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley.

He gained notoriety in hacker circles when he and famed hacker Kevin Poulsen rigged phone lines at three radio stations and won two Porsches, two giveaways for $20,000, one for $10,000 and at least two trips to Hawaii, the prosecutor said.

Peterson’s pleaded guilty on Aug. 29 to charges stemming from those giveaways.

His most recent crimes occurred between Oct. 22, 1993, and last Aug. 29, while authorities were searching for him. Peterson had skipped bail in the contest-rigging case, prosecutor Schindler said.

Peterson is scheduled to return to court June 5 for sentencing in both cases. Attorneys said that because federal sentencing guidelines are complex in this case, they are uncertain how much time Peterson might face. But the charges carry statutory maximum sentences of 60 years in federal prison and $2 million in fines.

Peterson was captured last August following a brief chase just two blocks from the FBI’s offices in West Los Angeles.