Sentencing for Aleksandr Suvorov, High Ranking Member of the Ukrainian Card Fraud Ring

PRLog (Press Release) - Jun. 13, 2012 - Aleksandr Suvorov, of Sillamae, Estonia, was charged by the United States Justice Department with wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, conspiracy to possess unauthorized access devices, access device fraud, aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit computer fraud, computer fraud and counts of interception of electronic communications and is awaiting his final sentencing on June 21, 2012.

Suvorov was allegedly part of the “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” hacking ring that had penetrated the online financial systems of several famous restaurant and market chains in the US and was, at the time, the largest identity theft in US history.  The ringleader of this case, Albert Gonzalez, was allegedly a Secret Service informant and detrimental in the case against Suvorov and others.  In the short time the ring operated it was able to do some $200 million in damages against TJX.  Sadly, these case is probably best known today for being indirectly a contributor in the suicide of US hacking wunderkind, Jonathan James, who as a juvenile hacked into both NASA and the Pentagon.  

Suvorov’s attorney, Arkady Bukh (http://www.nyccriminallawyer.com) has always maintained his client’s innocence, explaining that his client, as well as others in the ring like Stephen Watt, were victims of entrapment perpetrated by the ringleader Gonzalez.  “You’ve got this guy who was supposedly working for the Secret Service for years, being allowed to make millions at the expense of US businesses and citizens—I mean, this guy can’t exactly indict himself he has to give names.  Even if those names were minor players in the game.”

Suvorov was allegedly one of the key programmers in this card fraud ring.  Taken from the Justice Department website:

The indictment alleges that in or about May 2007, Yastremskiy and Suvorov gained  unauthorized access to the cash register terminals and installed at each restaurant a “packet sniffer,” a malicious piece of computer code designed to capture communications between two or more computer systems on a single network.  The packet sniffer was configured to capture track 2 data as it moved from the restaurant’s point-of-sale server through the computer system at the company’s corporate headquarters to the data processor’s computer system.  

If convicted on all accounts, Suvorov would have spent life in prison.  His attorney, Arkady Bukh doesn’t believe that this will be the case, however.  “We’ve got some tricks up our sleeve.  I wouldn’t count him out yet.”

Arkady Bukh is one of the top attorney’s in this growing area of crime.  It would be impossible to name a card fraud scheme that doesn’t have at least one individual attached to his firm.  “Listen, just as it is easy for hackers to get your information, it is just as easy for them to plant information.  Not everything is as it seems.  Everyone deserves the presumption of innocence."