Hacker faces at least 65 years in prison and $2,75 million / €2 million in fines

Jul 8, 2014 08:43 GMT  ·  By

Russian hacker Roman Valerevich Seleznev has been arrested on July 5 by the U.S. Secret Service. He is accused of hacking into the POS systems of restaurants across the United States, stealing credit and debit card information, and selling it on multiple carding forums.

Roman Seleznev was known on the underground market under various aliases, “Track2,” “nCux,” and “Bulba” being only some of them. He is accused of being involved in multiple financial fraud schemes between October 2, 2009 and February 22, 2011.

The fraud affected financial institutions such as Chase Bank, Captital One and Citibank, and was carried out by planting malicious software into the POS (point-of-sale) systems of different restaurants on the U.S. territory.

The indictment document, which was released to the public this week, in the wake of Seleznev’s arrest, reveals a total of 29 counts, ranging from bank fraud (five), intentionally causing damage to a protected computer (eight), and obtaining information from a protected computer (eight), to possession of fifteen or more unauthorized access devices (one), trafficking in unauthorized access devices (two), and aggravated identity theft (five).

All charges presented in the indictment are only allegations, but, if found guilty on all accounts, Seleznev faces at least 65 years in prison and a total fine of $2,75 million / €2 million; bank fraud alone is punishable by up to 30 years and a $2 / €1.47 million fine.

In a separate indictment in the District of Nevada, Seleznev has two RICO-related charges and two counts of possession of fifteen or more counterfeit and unauthorized access devices. Combined, the maximum penalties are of up to 30 years of prison time.

However, the actual sentence will be determined by the Court taking into account the United States Sentencing Guidelines, “which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders,” says the U.S. Attorney’s office announcement.

Julia Pierson, Director of the U.S. Secret Service, said that “Secret Service agents utilize state-of-the-art investigative techniques to identify and pursue cyber criminals around the world. This scheme involved multiple network intrusions and data thefts for illicit financial gain. The adverse impact this individual and other transnational organized criminal groups have on our nation's financial infrastructure is significant and should not be underestimated.”

U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan is confident that cybercriminal efforts will be uncovered by law enforcement agencies and the threat actors will be brought to justice.

A hearing has been scheduled for Seleznev on July 22, 2014. You can check the indictment document below.