The teenage hacker behind the massive GTA 6 gameplay leak has been in court to be sentenced for his crimes. 18-year-old Arion Kurtaj was found guilty by a UK jury in August but the sentencing had been delayed.
He was in court today to find out his fate however it has been delayed yet again. We have learned more details about the case though. These include how he would commit more crimes when freed from prison and what horrible things his friend did to a couple of girls.
Today’s hearing details
According Joe Tidy from the BBC, Kurtaj appeared via video call from Feltham prison. He sat emotionless at a desk wearing a black t-shirt. Tidy later noticed he would frequently blink and run his fingers up and down the desk.
Mr Kurtaj did not stand trial due to being deemed unfit to do so by psychiatrists. Dr Claudia Camden-Smith who assessed Kurtaj took questions in court today. According to The Daily Mail, she was asked by a prosecutor “if he was ‘highly motivated to return to offending?”. Dr Camden-Smith replied with “That is what he told me the last time I saw him.”
Judge Patricia Lee has postponed the sentencing until later this month and has had Kurtaj detained under the Mental Health Act as she believes he is suffering from a mental illness.
The Daily Mail have also reported statements made by Prosecutor Kevin Barry regarding the GTA VI leak.
This material was highly confidential as the game is a billion-dollar franchise and the latest instalment is hotly anticipated.
He published some of the stolen footage taken during the hack on online forums and blackmailed Rockstar Games that he would release the precious source code which forms the building blocks of the game unless they contacted him – presumably to discuss ransom payment.
Mr Kurtaj is determined to commit further offences if he gets the opportunity to do so. That determination is undimmed by spending time in custody over the last year.
Kevin Barry, Prosecutor via The Daily Mail
Kurtaj’s legal representatives requested the judge to be lenient. The reason behind this is “there was no serious harm” in doing the GTA VI hack and it is “insignificant compared to the game’s overall anticipation/production.”
Joe Tidy of the BBC said that the majority of the time today was spent discussing the “mental wellbeing and debating how much harm to people and businesses” Arion Kurtaj had caused.
There is no suggestion that these were victimless crimes – quite the opposite is the case. Customers had their data stolen and had their sims swapped and used by criminals including, the prosecution say, the defendants.
The consequences of that fraud were that they found their lives turned upside down, accounts ransacked and drained.
Life savings taken, sometimes amounting to tens of thousands of pounds… These were real-world losses suffered by individuals.
Kevin Barry, Prosecutor via The Daily Mail
The prosecutor described “hallmarks” of the teenage hack as “automated words ‘f**k me daddy’ to appear on websites. Another saw a picture of a penis appear.”
According to The Daily Mail, David Miller who is trying to defend the teen hacker said he is a “genius” and “faces spending decades in a secure environment at the taxpayers expense. There must be a better way to utilise the skills he has.”
Miller also attempted to have some fun by saying “it was ironic he targeted the makers of GTA, the world’s most successful ever video game where the object is to ‘rob gangs and build gangs.”
Partner in crime details
Kurtaj and a 17 year-old accomplice conducted several crimes together. Due to his age, details on the 17-year-old accomplice have remained low until now. The BBC reports he was sat in court today wearing a smart white shirt. A woman believed to be this mother was sat next to him. Just like Kurtaj, he has autism but has been on conditional bail. He was not set to be sentenced today.
Additional trouble caused by the minor was also revealed today. He targeted a 16-year-old girl from the USA with heinous cybercrimes. She was doxxed, swatted, DDoS’d and had death threats. On top of that he stalked and sent faeces to another girl in Gibraltar. A note was included that read “Enjoy your stinky gift from Incursion Team”.
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