FLORIDA MAN SENTENCED FOR WEB ATTACK ON RIVAL MATCHMAKING SITE
Owner of MyLatinRose.com Hacked into Gig Harbor Based Latinlovesearch.com Disrupting Business
TERRY LEMAR NOLAN, 45, of Palm Harbor, Florida, was sentenced today to one year of probation and ordered to pay $7,427.00 in restitution for Intentionally Causing and Attempting to Cause Damage to a Protected Computer. NOLAN was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James S. Moody in the Middle District of Florida. The case was originally filed in the Western District of Washington where the victims reside.
NOLAN pleaded guilty January 31, 2006, admitting that in January and February 2005, he used passwords belonging to the owners of the Latinlovesearch.com site to delete and alter information on the web site. NOLAN and his wife own a rival website, MyLatinRose.com. At one time NOLAN and his wife were acquainted with the owners of Latinlovesearch.com. After the Gig Harbor couple started the Latinlovesearch.com website, NOLAN and his wife considered them competitors and ended their relationship. Both websites post profiles of women from South America. Male subscribers pay a fee to review the pictures, biographies and contact information of the women.
On January 9, 2005, the Peruvian television program “Frequencia Latina” aired a feature on Latinlovesearch.com and also mentioned MyLatinRose.com. The television program is similar to popular newsmagazine shows in the United States. The owners of Latinlovesearch.com expected significant new business because of the publicity. One owner had traveled to Peru to be ready to interview additional women interested in posting information on the site and to do follow-up interviews with local media. However, immediately following the broadcast a hacker made the site unavailable. The owners believe they lost thousands of dollars in new business.
The victims, who live in Gig Harbor, Washington, have already received restitution from NOLAN.
The case was investigated by the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kathryn Warma.
For additional information please contact Emily Langlie, Public Affairs Officer for the United States Attorney’s Office, at (206) 553-4110.
