Former St. Louis Cardinals scouting director Chris Correa has been sentenced to 46 months in prison for hacking accounts at rival Major League Baseball (MLB) team the Houston Astros.

Correa, who was fired in July 2015 after the hacking scandal was first revealed, was also ordered to pay $279,038 in restitution.

In his initial defense, Correa claimed that he had hacked the accounts because he believed the Astros were in possession of proprietary information, something the Astros denied, before agreeing to plead guilty to five counts of unauthorized access of a protected computer as part of a plea deal.

As part of that deal he admitted to using the accounts of three Astros employees to view scouting reports, amateur player evaluations, notes on trade discussions and proposed bonuses for draft picks; according to The St. Louis Dispatch the information he accessed was given an estimated value of $1.7 million by the United States Attorney’s office.

Correa had initially faced five years in prison for each of the five violations of the U.S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act as well as fines of up to $250,000 for each charge.

“I violated my values and it was wrong … I behaved shamefully,” Correa is said to have told the judge in the case. “The whole episode represents the worst thing I’ve done in my life by far.”

“I am overwhelmed with remorse and regret for my actions.”

Cardinals penalty

While the trial itself may now be over, repercussions over the hacking incident may still be forthcoming, with speculation that the MLB might take direct action against the Cardinals, including penalties, limits on draft spending, or even the confiscation of draft picks.

“Now that the criminal process has been completed, Commissioner Manfred has asked the Department of Investigations to conduct a complete investigation of the facts in this matter, including requesting information from the appropriate law enforcement authorities,” MLB said in a statement. “The Commissioner hopes that the investigation can be completed promptly to put him in a position to take appropriate action.”

The case remains notable as being the first major incident of corporate espionage using computer systems between competing teams in American professional sports.

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