National Public Data confirms 2.9 billion-record data breach and more

National Public Data confirms 2.9 billion-record data breach

Background check company National Public Data confirmed a massive data breach involving 2.9 billion records, including Social Security numbers, names, addresses, email addresses and phone numbers. The breach, attributed to cyber-criminal group USDoD, began in late December 2023, with data leaks detected in spring and summer of this year.

A class-action lawsuit claims that hackers accessed the network, stole unencrypted personal information and posted a database with details from 2.9 billion records on the dark web on April 8, with the intent to sell the information for $3.5 million. (See “National Public Data confirms massive data breach included Social Security numbers,” by Mike Snider, USA Today, updated Aug. 22, 2024.)

‘Blue Christmas’ for woman who tried to steal Graceland

Elvis Presley fans were “All Shook Up,” when 53-year-old Lisa Jeanine Findley of Kimberling City, Missouri, was arrested in connection with an elaborate scheme to steal the King of Rock ’n’ Roll’s iconic Graceland mansion in Memphis, Tennessee.

Charged with mail fraud and aggravated identity theft, Findley allegedly posed as three representatives of a fictitious lender, Naussany Investments, claiming that the late Lisa Marie Presley — the singer’s daughter, who died in 2023 — borrowed $3.8 million with Graceland as collateral in 2018. When the “loan” wasn’t repaid, Findley demanded $2.85 million from Presley’s family and issued a fake foreclosure notice. Findley faces a minimum prison sentence of two years for aggravated identity theft and up to 20 years for mail fraud. (See “Woman Arrested in Alleged Scheme to Steal Graceland From Elvis Presley’s Family,” by Joseph Pisani, The Wall Street Journal, Aug. 16, 2024.)

Journalist Jeff German’s murderer gets life sentence

Former Nevada politician Robert Telles has been sentenced to life in prison for the first-degree murder of Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German. Telles was accused of killing German in retaliation for critical reporting on his conduct while he headed the Clark County Office of the Public Administrator. Telles will be eligible for parole after 20 years.

Before he died, German was working on a story about a Ponzi scheme targeting members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After his death, Washington Post reporter Lizzie Johnson picked up where German left off. The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) honored German and Johnson’s investigation of the scheme with the Guardian Award for their determination and commitment to the truth in the fight against fraud at the 35th Annual Global Fraud Conference this year in Las Vegas. (See “Nevada politician given life sentence for reporter’s murder,” by Holly Honderich, BBC News, Aug. 28, 2024.)