Russian held in US faces more credit card data hacking charges
PUBLISHED : Friday, 10 October, 2014, 8:59pm
UPDATED : Friday, 10 October, 2014, 8:59pm
Agence France-Presse in Washington
Roman Seleznev
A Russian national arrested this year by US officials has been indicted on additional hacking charges, alleging he led a scheme to steal some two million credit card numbers.
Roman Seleznev, the son of a Russian lawmaker, now faces 40 criminal counts including wire fraud and identity theft, the US Justice Department said.
The superseding indictment returned by a grand jury in Seattle offered more details on the alleged scheme to create an underground network to facilitate the theft and sales of credit card data.
Seleznev, 30, was arrested in July, to face charges in a prior indictment. He and his partners hacked into computer payment systems and stole credit card numbers from dozens of retailers in Seattle and other cities around the United States, prosecutors alleged.
The numbers were then sold on "dump shop websites" which facilitate sales of stolen credit card information.
"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 US citizens," said Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell.
Seleznev is currently scheduled for trial on November 3 and will be arraigned on the new charges next week.
In July, Moscow accused Washington of abducting Seleznev from the Maldives. The US insisted there was "no kidnapping involved" in the arrest.
