The man accused of conspiracy in the hacking attacks on payment systems supporting companies such as retailers TJX Cos., Hannaford Brothers Co. Inc. and 7-Eleven, pleaded guilty Dec. 29 at the U.S. District Court in Boston.

Federal prosecutors said Albert Gonzalez, 28, of Miami, allegedly controlled servers that gained access to the targeted corporate networks and then gave information to hackers who used malware to launch cyber attacks. He pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy.

As part of a plea agreement, Gonzalez won't seek a prison sentence of less than 17 years, and prosecutors won't seek a term of more than 25 years.

The U.S. Dept. of Justice said that the co-conspirators stole tens of millions of credit and debit card numbers affecting more than 250 financial institutions.

Gonzalez, also known as “segvec,” “soupnazi” and “j4guar17,” is scheduled to be sentenced in March in Boston, New Jersey and New York courts, according to federal officials. The New Jersey sentence will run concurrently with the sentences he receives in Boston and New York, according to the plea agreement.

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Conspirator in retailer&#039;s financial data breach pleads guilty

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Conspirator in retailer's financial data breach pleads guilty