January 16, 2026
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Tennessee Man Admits Hacking Supreme Court Filing System and Federal Agencies

Nicholas Moore, 24, of Springfield, Tennessee, pleaded guilty in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 16, 2026, to a misdemeanor computer‑fraud charge for repeatedly hacking the U.S. Supreme Court’s electronic filing system and accessing other federal systems with stolen credentials. Prosecutors say that in 2023 he used someone else’s login to get into the Court’s filing system on 25 different days, pulled that person’s personal records, and then posted their information on an Instagram account labeled “@ihackedthegovernment.” Moore also admitted using stolen credentials to access a user’s personal data on AmeriCorps’ servers and a Marine Corps veteran’s MyHealtheVet account at the Department of Veterans Affairs, again posting screenshots of what he found on the same Instagram page. He faces up to one year in prison when U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell sentences him on April 17, underscoring both the vulnerability of federal judicial and benefits platforms to credential theft and the relatively light maximum penalty attached to the misdemeanor count. The case comes as federal courts and agencies are under growing pressure to harden their online systems against low‑tech intrusions that can still compromise highly sensitive personal information.

Federal Cybersecurity and Hacking U.S. Supreme Court

📌 Key Facts

  • Nicholas Moore, 24, of Springfield, Tennessee, pleaded guilty Jan. 16, 2026, in federal court in Washington, D.C.
  • He admitted using stolen credentials in 2023 to access the Supreme Court’s filing system on 25 separate days and view one user’s personal records.
  • Moore also hacked an AmeriCorps server and a Marine veteran’s VA MyHealtheVet account, posting screenshots from all three systems to an Instagram account '@ihackedthegovernment.'
  • He pleaded to one misdemeanor count of computer fraud carrying a maximum sentence of one year in prison, with sentencing set for April 17 before Judge Beryl Howell.

📊 Relevant Data

In federal offenses involving the use of cyber technology from 2014 to 2021, 68.6% of offenders were White, compared to 21.5% in other federal sentences.

Cyber Technology in Federal Crime — United States Sentencing Commission

In federal offenses involving the use of cyber technology from 2014 to 2021, 94.0% of offenders were male, compared to 86.8% in other federal sentences.

Cyber Technology in Federal Crime — United States Sentencing Commission

The average age of individuals arrested for cybercrime in the US is 19, compared to 37 for those arrested for any crime.

2025 Cybersecurity Almanac: 100 Facts, Figures, Predictions And Statistics — Cybersecurity Ventures

In federal sentencing, Black males received sentences 13.4% longer than White males, after controlling for other demographic factors and legally relevant sentencing factors.

2023 Demographic Differences in Federal Sentencing — United States Sentencing Commission

📰 Source Timeline (1)

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