Haverford College Grad Hacked IRS For Trump's Taxes: Prosecutors

HAVERFORD, PA — A former Haverford College student pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to trying to access President Donald Trump's tax returns from the IRS in 2016, according to federal authorities.

Justin Hiemstra, 22, of Minnesota, pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to using a school computer and someone else’s username to get Trump's tax returns from the IRS. He graduated from Haverford College in May, United States Attorney William M. McSwain said Tuesday.

A plea deal will land Hiemstra a maximum two-year sentence and a $200,000 fine.

Hiemstra and another student were accused of using a FAFSA form to try to game the IRS system and obtain the president's taxes, which were a target for opponents of Trump during the 2016 election.

Days before Trump's electoral victory, on Nov. 2, 2016, Hiemstra and fellow student Andrew Harris went to a computer lab on the Haverford College campus.

Hiemstra and Harris created a false FAFSA account under the name of a family member of Donald Trump.

When they realized that a FSA-ID had already been created for Donald Trump, they attempted to obtain access to the existing account by answering the security questions associated with the account.

They did a search in Google for answers to the security questions and then used Trump’s social security number, to attempt to get the tax records. IRS records show that four attempts were made.

Hiemstra said he used credentials from two other Haverford College students to access the two computers that he and Harris used.

Harris was had another student's credentials. He could not recall whose credentials they used to log onto the second computer, but he admitted having the login credentials for approximately five or six students in his phone.