14 DAY TRIAL // A Russian citizen admitted his participation in an operation that made over $427,000 / €405,000 from selling goods online after purchasing them using stolen payment card information.
Along with co-conspirators, 32-year-old Alexey Svetlichnyy bought stolen credit and debit card data from underground forums such as Carder Planet, Vendorsname, and Direct Connect, and used it to acquire different goods, from iPads, smartphones, CPUs, laptops and server computers to high-end camera lenses and scuba diving equipment.
Third parties employed to receive the merchandise
According to prosecutors, Svetlichnyy, who operated online under the moniker "Joga," and the others in the clique also purchased value cards from various retailers, some of them in the financial sector (American Express, Visa).
The illegally purchased products would be delivered to addresses provided by accomplices paid for this particular service. They would later re-ship the merchandise to commercial mailbox addresses set up by Svetlichnyy in the name of a company in Delaware called Micaxr.
On his LinkedIn profile, the fraudster advertises to be a freelancer and CEO of Micaxr for the past four years. He touts experience in working with Apache and Windows server, as well as server administration, networking and business process management skills. Interestingly, he even received endorsements for some of his skills.
In the “Education” area, a master’s degree in economics and business management is listed.
He is unlikely to receive the maximum sentence
Some of the money obtained from selling the goods would be transferred to bank accounts overseas, including Russia.
The maximum penalty carried by the charge (one count of wire fraud conspiracy) is 20 years of jail time, a $250,000 / €237,000 fine or twice the gross gain or loss, and restitution. However, the sentences are most of the times less than the maximum penalties.
Information from the Department of Justice says that Svetlichnyy was engaged in illicit trading activities from March 2010 until October 2013. He was charged by complaint in May 2014 and the sentence is scheduled for June 3, 2015.