NATHAN Austad has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for his involvement in a hacking scheme targeting the DraftKings fantasy sports and betting website, which lead to the theft of approximately $600,000 from 60,000 user accounts. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit computer intrusion in December 2025. Austad and his co-defendants conducted a 'credential stuffing attack,' using stolen credentials obtained from other breaches to gain unauthorized access to user accounts.
They profited from selling access to these accounts and additionally managed cryptocurrency accounts containing around $465,000 in illicit proceeds. In total, three defendants have been sentenced in relation to this case, highlighting efforts by the DOJ and FBI to combat cybercrime.