Accused PlayStation hacker destroys machines, dodges 20 years in prison

Todd M. Miller, suspected hacker and accused participant in the group who brought Sony's online game servers down in 2008, was sentenced by a federal court to three years probation, a year of house arrest and ordered to complete a high-school equivalence certificate for obstructing a federal investigation, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

The Columbus, Ohio resident potentially faced 20 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. After Miller was interviewed by the FBI in 2011, he destroyed his machines and disposed of his hard drives before the authorities could return with a search warrant. The FBI could not charge Miller with hacking offenses due to the lack of evidence.

The judge said that because Miller had a troubled childhood and now had stability and a full time job, that he could "see no sense" in sentencing him to prison. Miller told U.S. District Judge Peter C. Economus that at the time he was "immature and ignorant and caught up with the wrong people at the wrong time" and that "You will not see me again."