New accusations for Sacramento journalist sentenced in federal hacking case

Sacramento journalist Matthew Keys first came to notoriety because of his mastery of computers.

The former Fox40 producer and deputy social media editor for Reuters was indicted by a federal grand jury in Sacramento in 2013, charged with using his prodigious skills in a conspiracy to steal hundreds of Fox40 viewers’ email addresses after the Sacramento television station fired him.

He also was accused of providing log-in credentials to allow a break-in of the Los Angeles Times website for a hacker to alter a story on the site.

Keys, now 33, denied the charges and went to trial, with his attorney saying the real culprit was a member of the Anonymous hacking group known as “sharpie,” who was never charged. Keys was convicted by a jury and sentenced to two years in federal prison.

“He’s not a journalist, he’s a terrorist,” Keys’ former news director Brandon Mercer wrote in a letter read in court during his sentencing.

Now, federal officials say, Keys has done it again.

In a petition filed in federal court late Monday, probation officials say Keys violated the conditions of his supervised release from prison by hacking into Comstock’s magazine web accounts and deleting the Sacramento magazine’s YouTube videos and account.

Keys, whose supervised release by probation was to expire April 29, worked at the business magazine as its digital editor from May 2019 until he quit last January in a dispute with management.

Following a Feb. 24 complaint filed with the U.S. Attorney’s office by Comstock’s Executive Editor Tom Couzens, probation officers went to Keys’ home on March 11 and seized 18 devices that were sent to a cybercrime lab for analysis, court papers say.

Court documents say a forensic computer report determined Keys’ iPhone and MacBook Pro were used to enter a Comstock’s YouTube account on Feb. 10 at 2:09:14 a.m.

“Approximately 17 seconds later, the user performed a Google search of ‘how to delete YouTube channel,’” court papers say. “The report reflects that approximately 20 seconds later, the user was once again signed into a YouTube account, accessed the ‘Manage your YouTube content’ at 2:10:56 a.m.

“At 2:11:26 a.m., the URL for website contained text string, ‘youtubeoptions/deletesuccess.’”

“The information gathered reflects Mr. Keys accessed Comstock’s Magazine accounts after he departed the company and proceeded to delete the content and YouTube account,” court documents say.

Court papers say Keys denied accessing any Comstock’s accounts after quitting on Jan. 23 and that he believes “Couzens’ accusations stem from a complaint he filed against Comstock’s Magazine with the California Employment Development Department for a hostile work environment.”

Keys had filed a complaint with the state Department of Industrial Relations for employer retaliation.

Couzens, a former Sacramento Bee editor, declined comment.

Probation officials recommended that, because of the ongoing coronavirus crisis, Keys remain out of custody pending proceedings on his alleged violations, which could return him to prison for up to two years.

“Due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, the probation officer respectfully recommends the court issues a summons to appear in court and that Mr. Keys remain out of custody during violation proceedings,” U.S. Probation Officer Miriam Olea wrote in a court filing.

In a brief video conference hearing Tuesday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Carolyn Delaney agreed to allow Keys to remain out of custody and set the next hearing for June 8.

Keys referred questions to his attorney, Mark Reichel.

“It’s very early on and we welcome the opportunity to read all the relevant materials and work with the government before the next hearing,” Reichel said.

This story was originally published April 28, 2020 at 2:36 PM.