Pasadena Court to Hear Appeal in LA Superior Court Phishing Attack Case

A federal appeals court in Pasadena is calendared to hear arguments Tuesday, September 10, in the case of a Texas man convicted of orchestrating a massive phishing attack in 2017 that targeted the Los Angeles County Superior Court system.

The hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. in Courtroom 1 of the United States Court of Appeals on  Grand Avenue in Pasadena and will be livestreamed on YouTube.

Oriyomi Sadiq Aloba of Katy, Texas, is appealing his sentence after the United States 9th Circuit Court of Appeals vacated his original 145-month prison term and ordered a resentencing in March 2022.

Aloba was found guilty in 2019 of 27 charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft. Prosecutors said he and his co-conspirators hacked into a court employee’s email account and used it to send millions of phishing emails designed to capture login credentials and other sensitive information.

The attack caused significant disruption to the court system, described as “the largest court system in the world,” and resulted in more than $45,000 in losses due to employee time spent addressing the breach. Additionally, there were over $15,000 in combined actual and intended losses to credit card victims.

During a search of Aloba’s home, investigators found evidence of attempts to destroy incriminating materials, including a thumb drive in a toilet and a damaged iPhone in a sink.

The case highlighted the vulnerability of large organizations to phishing attacks and the potential for significant disruption from cybercrime incidents.

Initially charged by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, the case was later referred to federal prosecutors. At sentencing, Aloba was also ordered to pay $47,479 in restitution.

As of the latest available information, three alleged co-conspirators hired by Aloba to develop phishing kits were reported to be at large outside the United States. Another co-defendant, Robert Charles Nicholson of Brooklyn, New York, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

The outcome of Tuesday’s hearing potentially could alter Aloba’s sentence, which initially carried a maximum potential of over 350 years in federal prison.