Two U.S. univsersity students charged for illegally accessing system and changing grades

Fresno (CA) - If you ever have the opportunity to illegally change your grades, think of these two California students - they’re facing up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for exactly that crime.

29-year-old John Escalera and 28-year-old Gustavo Razo were indicted on October 25 for hacking their way into the California State University, Fresno computer system and changing their grades.

According to the charges, Escalara worked in CSUF’s information technology department and was able to slip into the grading database fairly easily. He allegedly used the password of his supervisor to gain access to some of the university’s most sensitive data banks.

Charges included in the indictment include unauthorized computer access, wire fraud, conspiracy, and identity theft. If convicted they could each serve as much as 20 years in prison, with fines totaling $250,000.

The indictment also specifies that the students’ grades were changed several times between January and June 2004. Razo allegedly paid cash to Escalera to bump up his grades, while Escalera also increased his own scores.

The IT staff became aware of the problem during a routine audit.