A former Subway franchise owner was sentenced to 18 months in jail for his part in remotely hacking the restaurants’ computer systems in order to obtain more than $40,000 in gift cards.

The Department of Justice reports that the 46-year-old California man was sentenced by a U.S. District Judge in Boston to serve the prison sentence, as well as two years of supervised release and ordered to pay $34,712 in restitution to Subway.

The sentence comes after the man pleaded guilty in May to one count of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion and wire fraud and one count of wire fraud.

According to the Dept. of Justice, the man owned several Subway franchises in Southern California and later operated a company called POS Doctor, which sold and installed point-of-sale computer systems to Subway restaurants around the country.

POS systems are a type of computerized checkout register that allow merchants to manage customer purchases made by credit, debit and gift cards.

Beginning in 2011, the man and a co-conspirator – who was previously sentenced to six months in jail for his part in the scheme – remotely hacked into at least 13 POS systems around the country and fraudulently added at least $40,000 to Subway gift cards.

The Department of Justice reports that the men admitted to using the fraudulent gift cards at Subway restaurants and to selling them on eBay and Craigslist.

Former Subway Franchise Owner Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for Gift Card Hacking Scheme at Subway Restaurants [DOJ]

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