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Former Countrywide Employee Behind Bars

A former Countrywide employee is now behind bars and being forced to pay $1.2 million in restitution for stealing and dispersing confidential customer information, including social security numbers.

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U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder sentenced 39-year-old Pasadena resident Rene Rebollo Wednesday to eight months in prison and 10 months in a community corrections facility, according to an FBI ""press release."":http://www.fbi.gov/losangeles/press-releases/2011/former-employee-of-countrywide-home-loans-ordered-to-pay-1.2-million-in-restitution-for-data-breach-involving-information-for-millions-of-individuals?utm_campaign=email-Immediate&utm_medium=email&utm_source=los-angeles-press-releases&utm_content=34587

Rebollo will also pay $1.2 million to Bank of America, which now owns Countrywide Home Loans, and he faces restrictions from future access to customer information.

Prior to being arrested in 2008 after an investigation determined he downloaded customer information onto personal flash drives and sold it, Rebollo served as a senior financial analyst in Countrywide's subprime mortgage division.

Rebollo pled guilty to the charges, admitting he obtained 2.5 million individuals' contact information and social security numbers of at least 50,000 customers.

Rebollo opened a bank account specifically for the proceeds of the sales of this information.

Countrywide incurred $1.2 million in costs to inform affected customers of the data breach and $15.75 million to provide them with credit monitoring.

The lender also faced civil litigation and several class action lawsuits as a result of the breach, costing it $13.4 million.

About Author: Krista Franks Brock

Krista Franks Brock is a professional writer and editor who has covered the mortgage banking and default servicing sectors since 2011. Previously, she served as managing editor of DS News and Southern Distinction, a regional lifestyle publication. Her work has appeared in a variety of print and online publications, including Consumers Digest, Dallas Style and Design, DS News and DSNews.com, MReport and theMReport.com. She holds degrees in journalism and art from the University of Georgia.
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