Russian hacker receives 27 years in prison for widespread hacking, credit card fraud scheme

Roman Valeryevich Seleznev, a 32-year old Russian cybercriminal, was sentenced to 27 years in prison last week for defrauding various small businesses and financial institutions, causing more than $169 million in damages.

Seleznev, known by the pseudonym Track2, was convicted in August of 38 counts related to hacking point-of-sale computers, stealing credit card information, and selling stolen data on the black market. In total, he was convicted of 10 counts of wire fraud, eight counts of intentional damage to a protected computer, nine counts of obtaining information from a protected computer, nine counts of possession of 15 or more unauthorized devices, and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

At the time of his arrest in July 2014, Seleznev’s computer contained approximately 1.7 million stolen credit card numbers. The U.S. Department of Justice said Seleznev made tens of millions of dollars from his fraudulent schemes.

Seleznev was also charged in a separate indictment in Nevada for participating in a racketeer-influenced corrupt organization (RICO) and conspiracy to engage in a RICO, along with two counts of possession of 15 or more counterfeit and unauthorized access devices. The hacker also received additional charges in Georgia for similar fraudulent financial crimes.

“This investigation, conviction and sentence demonstrates that the United States will bring the full force of the American justice system upon cybercriminals like Seleznev who victimize U.S. citizens and companies from afar,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco said. “And we will not tolerate the existence of safe havens for these crimes – we will identify cybercriminals from the dark corners of the Internet and bring them to justice.”