Shahin Abdollahi, also known as Sean Holdt, 46, of Lake Elsinore, California, was sentenced to 18 months in jail for selling computerized cash registers to Subway owners and then hacking them and taking more than US$40,000 in gift cards.

In May, Abdollahi plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion and wire fraud and one count of wire fraud. Sentencing was Friday in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

The U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release that Abdollahi owned Subway franchises in Southern California. He later started a company called POS Doctor which sold and installed point-of-sale computer systems to Subway franchises around the country.

Along with Jeffrey Wilkinson, they remotely hacked into 13 Subway POS systems and added more than $40,000 to Subway gift cards. Wilkinson also plead guilty and was sentenced to six months in jail.