14 DAY TRIAL // 28-year-old Estonian Aleksandr Suvorov has been served a seven-year jail sentence by a New York court for his participation in a couple of hacking schemes that involved the theft of over 240,000 credit card numbers.
“Suvorov reached across an ocean to victimize thousands of Americans. That ocean was no protection from the reach of U.S. law enforcement, whose coordinated efforts put a stop to Suvorov and his cohorts’ criminal scheme,” said U.S. Attorney Lynch.
“He will now serve his sentence in the country of his victims. Computer hackers and identity thieves who prey on innocent American consumers, businesses and financial institutions will find no refuge from U.S. criminal justice in any corner of the globe.”
The court documents reveal that Suvorov was actually aiding Albert Gonzales, one of the most prolific identity thieves ever convicted in the United States. The two, along with another man from Ukraine, installed malicious software – which allowed them to steal the details of 81,005 credit cards – on the computers of Dave & Buster’s Inc.
And apparently, these weren’t the only credit card numbers in the suspect’s possession. He was apprehended after an accomplice of his attempted to sell 160,000 credit card numbers to an undercover US Secret Service agent.
For their participation in the scheme, Gonzales got 20 years jail time, the Ukrainian accomplice being sentenced to spend 30 years in a prison from Turkey, the country where he was arrested.
Authorities hope that the conviction sends out a clear message to anyone who may be attempting to commit such crimes.
“Mr. Suvorov participated in a scheme to sell thousands of credit card numbers stolen from unsuspecting consumers,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.
“Computer hackers like Mr. Suvorov victimize businesses and individuals, posing a serious threat to their financial security. Today’s sentence sends a clear message that cyber criminals operating abroad will suffer severe consequences for their crimes.”