Ardit Kutleshi, Jetmir Kutleshi, and Shpend Sokoli, Illicit Cybercrime Marketplace Shutdown, Pennsylvania 2024

Grimy Times has learned that federal authorities have shut down Rydox, an illicit cybercrime marketplace that has conducted over 7,600 sales of stolen personal information, access devices, and cybercrime tools, generating at least $230,000 in revenue since its inception in or around February 2016. The Rydox site has offered for sale at least 321,372 cybercrime products to over 18,000 users, including stolen PII such as names, addresses, and social security numbers, access devices such as stolen credentials for online accounts and credit card information, and cybercrime tools such as scam pages, spamming logs, and spamming tutorials.

The Rydox marketplace was a one-stop shop where upwards of 18,000 of its cybercriminal customers could choose from more than 300,000 cybercrime tools, said U.S. Attorney Eric G. Olshan for the Western District of Pennsylvania. The authorities have seized the domain www.Rydox.cc, which hosted and facilitated access to the Rydox website, and obtained judicial authorization to seize the site.

Three administrators of the Rydox marketplace, Ardit Kutleshi, 26, and Jetmir Kutleshi, 28, both Kosovo nationals, were arrested earlier today in Kosovo by Kosovo law enforcement pursuant to a U.S. request for extradition. They are currently awaiting extradition to the United States to face an indictment unsealed today in the Western District of Pennsylvania. A third administrator, Shpend Sokoli, a Kosovo national, was also arrested earlier today in Albania by Albania’s Special Anti-Corruption Body (SPAK), and is expected to be charged and prosecuted in Albania.

“The indictment alleges that, for more than eight years, the defendants administered an illicit online marketplace that sold PII, credit card information, and login credentials that had been stolen from thousands of U.S. victims,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today, we announce that, working with our domestic and foreign law enforcement partners, we have dismantled the marketplace, arrested its administrators, and seized their criminal proceeds. This announcement is a powerful demonstration of the value of our partnerships on cybercrime, without which these arrests and seizures would not have been possible.”

The Rydox marketplace has conducted over 7,600 sales of personally identifiable information (PII), stolen access devices, and cybercrime tools, which generated at least $230,000 in revenue since its inception in or around February 2016. The sales included PII, credit card information, and login credentials stolen from thousands of victims residing in the United States.

“The success of this international operation underscores the power of collaboration between the FBI and our partners worldwide,” said Special Agent in Charge Kevin Rojek of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office. “It also serves as a clear warning: those who go after innocent people for financial gain will be pursued and brought to justice no matter where they are in the world. This operation marks a major blow against the criminal underground that seeks to profit from stolen information and fuels global cybercrime.”

The Rydox administrators are awaiting extradition to the United States to face an indictment unsealed today in the Western District of Pennsylvania. The exact charges against the administrators have not been disclosed.

Defendants: Ardit Kutleshi, Jetmir Kutleshi, and Shpend Sokoli. Charges: Illicit cybercrime marketplace operation. Location: Kosovo and Albania. Date: [No specific date mentioned]. Outcome: Currently awaiting extradition to the United States.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/rydox-cybercrime-marketplace-shut-down-and-three-administrators-arrested