The New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”),
announced tuesday the unsealing of a nine-count indictment charging
VLADIMIR ZDOROVENIN and his son, KIRILL ZDOROVENIN, two Russian
citizens, with conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, computer fraud,
aggravated identity theft, and securities fraud.
According to the indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal
court, at various times between 2004 and 2005, VLADIMIR ZDOROVENIN and
his son KIRILL ZDOROVENIN allegedly engaged in a series of crimes in
Russia that victimized citizens of the United States through the use of
stolen credit card information, multiple phony websites, and bank
accounts in Russia and Latvia.
Specifically, the indictment alleges that the ZDOROVENINs stole
victims’ personal identification information, including credit card
numbers, through the use of computer programs that were surreptitiously
installed on victims’ computers and that recorded the information as it
was entered. The ZDOROVENINs also allegedly purchased stolen credit
card numbers from other individuals, and used the stolen credit card
information to make what appeared to be legitimate purchases of goods
from various Internet businesses that they ran. However, as alleged,
the purchases were fraudulent and were used as a means of deceiving
banks, credit card service processors, credit card holders, and others,
thereby enabling the ZDOROVENINS to steal the money they directed to
their websites.
Additionally, as alleged in the indictment, the ZDOROVENINs, used
the Internet to unlawfully access the financial services accounts of
victims located in the United States and then transferred or attempted
to transfer hundreds of thousands of dollars from those accounts to
bank accounts under the ZDOROVENINs’ control. Finally, the Indictment
charges that after taking over victims’ online brokerage accounts, the
ZDOROVENINs bought and sold thousands of shares of certain companies’
stock in an effort to manipulate the prices of those stocks. The
ZDOROVENINs allegedly realized profits through this scheme by
simultaneously purchasing or selling shares of the same stocks through
their own online brokerage account, maintained in the name of Rim
Investment Management, Ltd.
They were indicted under seal in May 2007. VLADIMIR ZDOROVENIN was
apprehended on March 27, 2011, in Zurich, Switzerland, and arrived in
New York Monday following his extradition by Swiss authorities. He will
be presented and arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Gabriel W.
Gorenstein in Manhattan federal court later today. KIRILL ZDOROVENIN
remains at large.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Cyber crime is a
pandemic that makes geography meaningless. From far away, with the
click of a mouse, the cyber criminal can victimize millions of people
in the U.S. As alleged, Vladimir Zdorovenin and his son did exactly
that; they engaged in serial cyber crimes in Russia that targeted
Americans and wrought havoc with their personal and financial
information, using it to make phony purchases and to manipulate stock
prices. As the unsealing of today’s Indictment demonstrates, we will
reach out across the globe, and wait as long as it takes to bring cyber
criminals to justice.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge Janice K. Fedarcyk stated: “Mr.
Zdorovenin’s egregious behavior illustrated the true colors of the
cyber underground, as he and his son allegedly defrauded consumers of
hundreds of thousands of dollars using methods that included
compromised credit cards, all fronted through fictitious companies they
had created. In addition, Zdorovenin allegedly installed malware to
access victims’ brokerage accounts, trading victims’ securities and
manipulating the price of stocks Zdorovenin already owned. This should
serve as a stark reminder to anyone who believes he can commit cyber
crime and hide behind the safety and anonymity of a Russian IP address;
you are not beyond the reach of the FBI.”
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