Romanian hacker indicted in Virginia

A Romanian man, Marcel Lehel Lazar, sentenced just last week in his own country for raiding online accounts linked to prominent politicians and celebrities, was indicted Thursday in a U.S. federal court.

Lazar, a taxi driver from Arad, Romania, was indicted for wire fraud, unauthorized access of a protected computer, aggravated identity theft, cyberstalking and obstruction of justice. The indictment was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

He was sentenced in Romania to four years for a high-profile hacking spree that ran from 2009 to 2013. One of his victims was the head of its secret service, George Maior.

He operated under the name of “Guccifer,” and is alleged to have trolled accounts on Gmail, Yahoo, Facebook and AOL looking at politicians and celebrities.

Although the indictment does not name the victims, one of them is said to have been former U.S. President George H.W. Bush. Lazar published emails and photographs of paintings by his son and former president, George W. Bush.

His victims are said to have included entertainers Leonardo DiCaprio, Nicole Kidman and Steve Martin.