19 Jan Computer History, 1989: The Queen Of The Hackers Tracked Down By U.S. Secret Service
This week in cybersecurity from the editors at Cybercrime Magazine
Sausalito, Calif. – Jan. 19, 2026
On Aug. 17, 1990, a federal judge sentenced a Chicago woman to 27 months in prison for masterminding a nationwide ring of computer hackers that stole more than $1.6 million of telephone and computer service from various companies, according to the Chicago Tribune. Leslie Lynne Doucette, 35 at the time, was given credit for the 14 months she had already served in prison since her arrest in 1989.
Doucette was accused of setting up a network of 60 teenagers throughout the U.S. who were employed to hack into computers and obtain people’s credit card numbers which they then used to access services. Doucette then pocketed some $1.5 million raised by the teenagers, some of whom were as young as 14.
In 1989, a U.S. Secret Service Agent told the New Computer Express that Doucette was the leader of a national conspiracy that was the largest hacking network he’d ever come across. “We call her the Queen of the Hackers,” said another Secret Service Agent.
A new 2-minute video produced by Cybercrime Magazine featuring our social media manager, Taylor Fox, recounting Doucette’s story was released on TikTok and YouTube.
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