A Russian man pleaded guilty on Thursday for his involvement in a cybercrime ring responsible for $50 million in online identity theft.
Roman Valeryevich Seleznev, also known as Track2, Bulba, Ncux, and 33, entered guilty pleas for participation in a racketeering enterprise and conspiracy to commit bank fraud. He will be sentenced on December 11.
According to the Department of Justice in Nevada, Seleznev was part of Carder.su, an Internet-based international criminal enterprise whose members bought and sold compromised credit card data and counterfeit identifications.
Seleznev admitted that Carder.su tried to keep the enterprise anonymous from both rival organizations and law enforcement. They used encrypted email and private messaging systems to communicate, and membership was only allowed through the recommendation of two current members in good standing.
He also admitted to acting as a "casher" in the enterprise, working with hackers to defraud an Atlanta-based company that processed credit and debit card transactions. Hackers were able to steal 45.5 million debit card number and withdraw over $9.4 million from 2,100 ATMs in 280 cities around the world in less than 12 hours.
55 people were charged in four separate indictments in Operation Open Market which targeted the Carder.su organization. 33 have been convicted, while the rest are either fugitives or are pending trial.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Secret Service. It's also being prosecuted in both Nevada and Georgia courts.
Seleznev was also convicted on 38 counts related to his role in another scheme to hack point-of-sale computers to steal and sell credit card numbers to criminals back in August, 2016. He was sentenced to 27 years in prison for those crimes
