The US Attorney General announced the conviction of a Russian citizen for running a web site that sold stolen credit card numbers, stolen id's, and bank account #s. He was convicted under RICO statutes that were established to thwart organized crime several decades ago.
His defense rested on the claim that none of the participants knew one another; therefore, were not co-conspirators. The jury thought otherwise and the guilty party joined a number of others convicted in the same case. The hacker had been arrested by authorities in the Maldive Islands a year ago, and has been in custody since. He is considered a flight risk.
The Russian government called his arrest and conviction a breach of international law, but that was it. In light of the Kremlin's recent activity in Ukraine, officials probably want to maintain a low profile.
Others have been arrested in the case and await trial. Justice officials say the site took in over $100 million before being shut down in 2012. Little comment has been publicized about ongoing RICO investigations regarding these types of web sites.
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