A Brazilian hacker, who at a recent Congressional hearing claimed that former president Jair Bolsonaro wanted him to hack into the country's electronic voting system to expose its alleged flaws ahead of the 2022 presidential election, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in connection with the 2019 Operation Spoofing case.
According to media reports, the hacker, Walter Delgatti, can appeal against the decision of Judge Ricardo Leite of the 10th Federal Court in Brasilia.
Delgatti was arrested in 2019 for allegedly hacking into the messaging apps of former economy minister Paulo Guedes, former justice Minister Sergio Moro, members of the Lava Jato task force, and advisors to the National Council of Public Prosecutors (CNMP) among others.
The judge observed that the accused was planning to sell the hacked conversations to journalists.
Delgatti also reportedly collected details from his victims and sold the data that he gathered.
This sentencing has nothing to do with another crime that he is accused of—hacking into the electronic systems of the National Council of Justice.
Delgatti told lawmakers that he met in person with Bolsonaro and told the former president that it was not possible for him to hack the electronic voting system. According to Delgatti, Bolsonaro had wanted the attempted hack to convince some voters that the country's voting system was not reliable. Delhgatti also said he was promised a presidential pardon in case he ended up being investigated for his actions. He, however, provided no evidence to substantiate his claims against the former president.
(With agency inputs)