Overview
- Federal Judge Marcelo Martínez De Giorgi formally processed Ariel Zanchetta, Elías Ezequiel Nuñes Pinheiro and Tomás Hválica on Friday for alleged membership in an illicit association that spied on Supreme Court ministers and federal judges.
- The court says the group ran a repeating three‑step method: illicit queries of personal data bases, SIM‑swapping to seize phone lines, and unauthorized access to messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Telegram.
- Prosecutors say Hválica ran the Dark PFA website as a hub that gave others unlimited access to deep‑web lookups and helped distribute hacked material, while Nuñes Pinheiro is accused of taking control of judges’ phone accounts.
- Device and communications analysis tied Zanchetta to thousands of searches in a commercial data service and showed links between the suspects, Fabián Rodríguez and deputy Rodolfo Tailhade, though the procesamiento is not a conviction.
- The case remains active with further hearings, raids and possible new charges expected, and it raises wider issues about the misuse of commercial databases, how SIM‑swapping enables account takeovers, and political fallout for the judiciary.