Chris Hutcheson jailed for hacking Ramsay's business

On 07/06/2017, Chris Hutcheson, the father in law of Gordon Ramsay and former chief executive of Gordon Ramsay Holdings Ltd, was sentenced to six months in prison at the Old Bailey in London for conspiring to hack into the celebrity chef’s business computer systems. The court heard that Hutcheson worked with his sons, Adam Hutcheson and Chris Hutcheson Jr., to access company data nearly 2,000 times between October 2010 and March 2011. The unauthorized access occurred after Hutcheson’s dismissal from the company following a public breakdown in the business relationship. Prosecutors said the hacking was intended to obtain information that could be used as leverage in ongoing legal disputes or to embarrass Ramsay. The court was told that some of the material obtained later appeared in newspaper reports, including personal details such as Ramsay’s hair transplant and information about a fishing trip. The unauthorized access targeted company emails, financial information, and internal communications belonging to Gordon Ramsay Holdings Ltd. Judge John Bevan QC described the conspiracy as “unattractive and unedifying” and ordered immediate imprisonment for Chris Hutcheson due to the seriousness and duration of the offenses. Adam Hutcheson, aged 46, received a four month prison sentence suspended for two years, while Chris Hutcheson Jr., aged 37, also received a four month sentence suspended for two years. During proceedings, the court heard that Gordon and Tana Ramsay had recently reconciled with members of the family and did not support criminal prosecution, but the judge stated that the offenses warranted custodial sentencing regardless of reconciliation.