PITTSBURGH — A Michigan man accused of hacking UPMC's human resources database in 2014 and selling more than 65,000 employees' personal data was arrested in Detroit on federal criminal charges Tuesday.

Justin Sean Johnson faces 47 counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, in connection with the 2014 hack and sale of personally identifiable information and W-2 tax forms, which U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady said were used to file thousands of false income tax returns.

According to the federal prosecutor, Johnson sold the personal information on dark web forums, where buyers would use the information to file fraudulent Forms 1040 with the IRS. Brady added that the tax refunds stemming from the filings, about $1.7 million in total, were used to buy Amazon gift cards in turn used to buy products shipped to Venezuela.

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