Russian hacker who raked in millions is sentenced in Seattle to 27 years

[Lieldoryn]

A prolific Russian hacker who raked in at least $170 million by stealing more than 2 million credit-card numbers and selling them on the black market was sentenced Friday morning to 27 years in prison in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
For years, Roman Seleznev was “one of the world’s leading providers of stolen credit card data,” according to federal prosecutors. He used the proceeds of his illegal operation to fund a lavish lifestyle and fuel his fondness for American-made muscle cars.
A prosecutor likened Seleznev as a “Tony Soprano-style mob boss” during the Friday sentencing hearing. The government had sought a 30-year sentence for Seleznev, characterizing his operation as unprecedented.
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“Never before has a criminal engaged in computer fraud of this magnitude been identified, captured and convicted by an American jury,” prosecutors wrote.
Seleznev apologized in court, blaming his difficult upbringing in Russia.
Seleznev, 32, the son of a prominent member of Russian parliament, hacked into thousands of business computers to steal the credit-card numbers. Many of the businesses were Washington state restaurants, including the former Broadway Grill on Capitol Hill, Grand Central Bakery, Mad Pizza locations in Seattle and Tukwila, Village Pizza in Anacortes and the Casa Mia Italian Restaurant in Yelm, Thurston County.
He was identified as a suspect in the hacks in 2010 after a Secret Service task force linked computer intrusions at restaurants in Washington and Idaho to a mysterious email address and website in Russia.
The Vladivostok man was indicted in 2011 by a federal grand jury in Seattle on charges involving more than 30 computer-fraud-related counts. The indictment grew to 40 counts by the end of 2014
He was arrested in 2014 in the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. While the U.S. did not have a treaty with the Maldives, officials there agreed to let U.S. agents arrest Seleznev, which drew official protests from Russian authorities who claimed he had been kidnapped.
According to the prosecutors, Seleznev’s laptop computer, seized during his arrest, contained 1.7 million stolen credit-card numbers.

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[Sithara007]

I don't condone what he has done, but he was arrested illegally. He was detained in Maldives and then handed over to the American authorities. Maldives don't have an extradition treaty with the US.

[Mometaskers]

You know what... good for him. What's with the interest in hacking bank accounts and credit cards from former Soviet and East European countries? I mean, even Bulgarians and Romanians come to the Philippines to steal credit card info. Like really, out of all countries you go to fuckin Philippines?

Sure that spiriting away the Americans did would cause so legal and diplomatic issues (son of "Parliament" member, uggh) but I'd rather see him behind bars than walking free enjoying stolen money. People like these are only sorry when caught. I wonder if those establishments hacked ever get their money back, or if cybercrime is covered by their insurance.

[Malsetid]

Well that may very well be right. I think online hacking is not really being looked upon and it needs to have stiffer penalties as it's the same as doing actual robbery, it's just that the perpetrator is unseen and is making less effort. Hacking millions is not a small thing.

[gentlemand]

Fuck the little shit. Assholes like that make life more expensive for people with morals.

[philggg]

The is a very good thing it will serve a warning to others who hack into people account withdraw

[gabmen]

Good riddance. Someone who knows he's getting a lot of money at the expense of other people should be given a lesson. That amount is no joke and this should set as an example to other hackers out there that they can be caught and they will pay for their doings

[Sithara007]

The is a very good thing it will serve a warning to others who hack into people account withdraw

He is claiming that he didn't did anything wrong. So we can't be sure. The way Americans kidnapped him from his vacation was completely wrong and unheard of. How would the American government feel if Russian agents kidnap some American hacker, while he is vacationing in Thailand?

[VapeOil]

His father was furious over the jailing of his son. Says he's innocent.

You only have feelings like this when you have been getting away with crime your whole life. Russia is a cesspool of organised crime. Crimes that they perpetuate on the citizens of other countries. All the while Russian authorities look the other way. WTF?! could you imagine what the world would be like if every country behaved this way.