A former private security officer at Security Specialists has been told to pay nearly $319,000 (£248,000) in damages for hacking his employer's payroll records, so that he can inflate the number of hours he had worked.
Yovan Garcia, the culprit, later hacked the data from the firm's server and defaced its website also.
District Judge of California, Michael Fitzgerald said the culprit had benefited rival business by using the stolen the data.
The company first noticed the flaw with Garcia's pay records in July 2014, after two years he joined the company.
According to the Judge of the Central District Court, he had obtained login credentials and accessed the records without authorisation.
Judge Fitzgerald said: "As a result, defendant Garcia was paid thousands of dollars more in overtime wages than he was really owed."
He ordered him to pay $318,661.70 to cover the costs as lost income and lost data to Security Specialists.
Yovan Garcia, the culprit, later hacked the data from the firm's server and defaced its website also.
District Judge of California, Michael Fitzgerald said the culprit had benefited rival business by using the stolen the data.
The company first noticed the flaw with Garcia's pay records in July 2014, after two years he joined the company.
According to the Judge of the Central District Court, he had obtained login credentials and accessed the records without authorisation.
Judge Fitzgerald said: "As a result, defendant Garcia was paid thousands of dollars more in overtime wages than he was really owed."
He ordered him to pay $318,661.70 to cover the costs as lost income and lost data to Security Specialists.