A former Subway franchise owner has admitted to remotely hacking point-of-sale terminals at the sandwich chain and topping up gift cards to the tune of $40,000.
Shahin Abdollahi, aka Sean Holdt, held Subway franchises in Southern California from 2005 to 2008. He then quit to set up a firm called POS Doctor, which sold and installed point-of-sale systems to Subway restaurant franchises around the country.
According to prosecutors, around 2011 Abdollahi and co-conspirator Jeffrey Wilkinson began remotely hacking the machines, breaking into at least 13 and fraudulently adding around $40,000 in value to Subway gift cards.
The men used the funds to buy sandwiches and Wilkinson also sold fraudulent gift cards to others using eBay and Craigslist.
Wilkinson pleaded guilty in February and will be sentenced later this month. Abdollahi has now followed suit, admitting to one count of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion and wire fraud and one count of wire fraud. His sentencing is scheduled for August.