Former court employee sentenced for leaking sensitive data and targeting victim’s family

The Zwolle District Court has sentenced 35-year-old Sana C. from Woerden to four years in prison, including a one-year suspended term, for selling data obtained from the Amsterdam court’s systems. She had been employed there until her arrest in March last year. The court also convicted her of extorting a man she met through gambling circles, noting that she struggled with gambling addiction.

During her trial, C. said her addiction had pushed her into the offences. The court ruled that she must receive treatment as part of the sentence. The punishment matches the sentence recommended by the Public Prosecution Service (OM).

C. is said to have passed the information to a man suspected of involvement in multiple explosions and arson incidents in The Hague, as well as a shooting at a residence in Waalwijk. She reportedly knew the fugitive suspect through a cousin. The OM is also prosecuting her in the case. C. had been employed at the Amsterdam District Court since August 2022, working at the central front desk.

The extortion lasted for two years, during which C. allegedly forced the victim to hand over around 100,000 euros through threatening WhatsApp messages. She is said to have used confidential court system data to intimidate him, threatening harm to him and his family, including his wife and children, if he did not comply.

According to the court, the man “had to work himself to exhaustion and borrow money to meet the demands,” and lived in constant fear for his children’s safety. The court issued a restraining order against C. and ordered her to pay compensation to the victim.

C. “abused her position and was solely driven by her desire for money,” the court stated. “In doing so, she has harmed the reputation and integrity of the judiciary as a whole. The court holds the defendant highly responsible for this.”