40-COUNT SUPERSEDING INDICTMENT RETURNED AGAINST ALLEGED RUSSIAN CYBER-CRIMINAL

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Alleged Russian Cyber-Criminal Now Charged in 40-Count Superseding Indictment

A federal grand jury in Seattle returned a second superseding indictment late yesterday charging a Russian national with 11 additional counts and further detailing his alleged scheme to hack into businesses and steal credit card information for later sale over the Internet on “carding” websites.

The now 40-count indictment alleges that Roman Valerevich Seleznev, aka “Track2,” 30, of Vladivostok, Russia, was involved in the theft and sale of more than 2 million credit card numbers.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes of the Western District of Washington made the announcement.

“The additions in this superseding indictment show how cybercriminals use the Internet not only to infiltrate and steal sensitive data, but also to teach other criminals how to navigate the credit-card selling underworld and get equipment that can be used to defraud U.S. citizens,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell.  “The Criminal Division is committed to investigating these thefts and uncovering the methods of computer hackers to stay one step ahead of them and bring them to face justice.”

“The charges returned by the grand jury detail a criminal scheme that continued right up until Mr. Seleznev’s arrest in July,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Hayes.  “As set forth in the indictment, the government expects to prove at trial that Seleznev was a leader in the marketplace for stolen credit card numbers, and even created a website offering a tutorial on how to use stolen credit card numbers to commit crime.”

The indictment charges Seleznev with 11 counts of wire fraud, nine 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 access devices and two counts of aggravated identity theft.  Seleznev is currently scheduled for trial on Nov. 3, 2014, and will be arraigned on the new charges sometime next week.

According to court documents, between October 2009 and October 2013, Seleznev allegedly hacked into retail point of sale systems and installed malicious software to steal credit card numbers from various businesses.  Seleznev allegedly created and operated the infrastructure to facilitate the theft and sale of credit card data, used servers located all over the world to facilitate his operation, and sold stolen credit card data on a website known as “2pac.cc.”

Seleznev is also charged in a separate indictment in the District of Nevada with participating in a racketeer influenced corrupt organization (RICO) and conspiracy to engage in a racketeer influenced corrupt organization, as well as two counts of possession of 15 or more counterfeit and unauthorized access devices.

The charges contained in the indictments are only allegations.  A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is being investigated by the U.S. Secret Service Electronic Crimes Task Force, which includes detectives from the Seattle Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Ethan Arenson of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Norman M. Barbosa and Seth Wilkinson of the Western District of Washington.  The Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Guam provided substantial assistance in this case.

JUSTICE SAYS TRAINING IMPORTANT TO KEEP CHILDREN SAFE FROM INTERNET CRIMINALS

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Training to Protect Children from Internet Crimes
April 19th, 2012
Posted by Tracy Russo
 The following post appears courtesy of Acting Assistant Attorney General Mary Lou Leary of the Office of Justice Programs
Training investigators, prosecutors and law enforcement across America to keep our children safe is a critical part of our work at the Office of Justice Programs.
At our 2012 National Law Enforcement Training on Child Exploitation this week, we bring together many practitioners to address internet crimes against children—including law enforcement, prosecutors, forensic examiners, victim witness specialists, members from our Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces—to learn about cutting-edge technology to stop internet crimes against children.

As the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs, I have the honor of overseeing the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program. The program helps state and local law enforcement agencies develop task forces to effectively respond to cyber enticement and child pornography cases.   These task forces recently arrested the 31,000th person suspected of committing a crime of child sexual exploitation.

We have been successful, but we cannot yet declare victory over these devastating crimes. Tomorrow’s technology will enable future crimes in ways we that are difficult to anticipate.

A few years ago, we had no idea that cell phones, with texting and internet surfing capabilities, would be in the hands of so many children. We didn’t know that electronic storage devices full of thousands of images and hours of video would become so tiny and inexpensive.  We certainly didn’t know that video gaming would move from the family room to the Internet.  And we don’t know what’s next.

Cutting-edge training is a vital tool in our fight against child exploitation so we can stay ahead of – or at least keep up with –advances in technology.   We in the Justice Department know that funds for training and technical assistance are a sound investment—in fact, they are some of the best spent federal dollars for getting results effectively and efficiently.

Similarly, we can make no better investment than in our nation’s children.  The Attorney General’s signature program, the Defending Childhood Initiative, was launched in 2010 to address a national crisis: the exposure of America’s children to violence as victims and as witnesses.   Research tells us children’s exposure to violence is often associated with long-term physical, psychological, and emotional harm, and that children exposed to violence are at a higher risk of engaging in criminal behavior later in life.

The explosion of new technologies these days requires that we expand our knowledge and skills in order to stop these new kinds of crimes and bring the criminals to justice.  Our communities rely on law enforcement to assist them in their times of need — and we are never more in need than when our children are in trouble.