Florida Man Pleads Guilty in Retail Data Breach

Boston Damon Patrick Toey, 23, of Miami, pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court to charges including credit-card fraud, wire fraud and identity theft, according to the Associated Press.

He was one of 11 people indicted last month and accused of hacking nine major retailers, including TJX Cos., to steal and sell more than 41 million credit- and debit-card numbers.

The alleged leader of the group, Albert Gonzalez, a former Secret Service informant, pleaded not guilty to similar charges during his initial appearance in Boston on Thursday. Prosecutors say Toey helped Gonzalez hack into the computer security of Miami-area retailers.

According to a plea agreement filed in court Thursday, Toey has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and possibly testify against other members of the ring. The agreement says if Toey provides substantial assistance in the investigation, prosecutors can ask the judge to sentence him to a term shorter than federal guidelines would dictate.