There's been speculation that Sabu may have tried to warn some people or help them while he was cooperating -- such as by passing along passwords to access hacked files (See Sabu and Havittaja chatlog on Jan. 24.) I doubt it. The plea agreement contains this sentence:
Moreover, any assistance the defendant may provide to federal criminal investigators shall be pursuant to the specific instructions and control of this Office and designated investigators.
If he violate any provision of the Agreement, he can be prosecuted for all offenses of which the Government has knowledge, including perjury and obstruction of justice. It can use his statements made during cooperation against him, and it doesn't have to file a motion to reduce his sentence -- and he can't withdraw his guilty plea.
In addition, if the Government believes he has violated any term of his agreement, it can move to revoke his bail without notice and he has to consent to it.
In other words, anything he does under the guise of cooperation must be pursuant to direction of his handlers or his deal is off.
As to what sentence he'll receive if he complies with all terms, the Government leaves it open. But I disagree with Ars Technica that he's guaranteed a two year sentence. It's possible he won't go to prison at all. While Count 12 (aggravated identity theft) carries a 2 year mandatory minimum sentence, the Government states if he fulfills the terms of his agreement, it will file a motion asking that the mandatory minimum not apply. Page 9 of the Plea Agreement states:
In addition, if this Office determines that the defendant has provided substantial assistance in an investigation or prosecution, and if he has fully complied with the understandings specified in this Agreement, this Office will file a motion, pursuant to Section 5K1.1 of the Sentencing Guidelines and 18 U.S.C. 3553(e), requesting the Court to sentence the defendant in light of the factors set forth in Section 5Kl. 1 (a)(l)-(5), and without regard to any otherwise applicable mandatory minimum sentence . (My emphasis.)
18 USC Sec. 3553 (e) is the statute that allows a judge to go below the mandatory minimum for cooperation:
(e) Upon motion of the Government, the court shall have the authority to impose a sentence below a level established by statute as a minimum sentence so as to reflect a defendant's substantial assistance in the investigation or prosecution of another person who has committed an offense. Such sentence shall be imposed in accordance with the guidelines and policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission pursuant to section 994 of title 28, United States Code.
At the guilty plea hearing, the court must advise the defendant of the maximum sentence he can receive. It doesn't mean the maximum (or as here, the mandatory minimum) will be imposed. While it's hard to imagine Sabu will get a total walk, it is a possibility under the plea agreement.
I wonder how many cases the FBI will make from Sabu's proactive cooperation. What was the purpose of him offering passwords related to hacks of Brazilian information to Havittaja. Sabu wrotes:
Sabu: I can give you the xml file with all passwords.
Sabu: want them?
Havittaja: hm... sure
Sabu says he also offered them to lala/hard366. Havittaja says he'll wait since he's working with evilc0de. Sabu then supplies them anyway. EvilcOde, who has since learned of this, doesn't sound happy.
Are they going to extradite Havittaja and Evilc0de from Brazil? Like our jails aren't full enough?
