Ex-Alabama state trooper pleads guilty to illegally accessing FMCSA databases

A former employee of the Alabama Highway Patrol has pleaded guilty to accessing information from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration databases without authorization.

Gary Scott Stratton entered a guilty plea in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama on March 8. As part of the guilty plea, Stratton admitted to:

• Intentionally accessing a computer without authorization.
• Obtaining information contained in a record of a government agency.
• Committing the offense for the purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain.

According the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General, the offense occurred between June 2018 and January 2019. The Office of Inspector General said Stratton worked as a private consultant for a company that provided motor carrier services in Alabama.

Stratton was able to gain access to the FMCSA databases by using credentials he received while working as a state trooper for the Alabama Highway Patrol, the Office of Inspector General said.