LOS ANGELES: A US judge sentenced an ex-St. Louis Cardinals scout to almost four years in prison Monday after he admitted hacking into internet accounts of the Houston Astros.
Former Cardinals scouting director Chris Correa pleaded guilty in January to five counts of unauthorized access to a protected computer by using three Astros employees accounts to view Major League Baseball scouting reports.
His sentence also includes two years of supervised release and a $279,000 payment of restitution, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
The 36-year-old Correa also admitted that he disguised his identity during the hacks, which also included looking at notes on player evaluations and trades.
Astros lawyer Giles Kibbe said Correa gained access to the team’s database a total of 60 times over 35 days.
The case isn’t over for the Correa or the Cardinals. Major League Baseball issued a statement Monday saying it would launch its own internal probe headed up by commissioner Rob Manfred.
“Now that the criminal process has been completed, commissioner Manfred has asked the department of investigations to conduct a complete investigation of the facts in this matter, including requesting information from the appropriate law enforcement authorities,” a statement from Major League Baseball said.
