Sergey Medvedev, RICO Conspiracy, Nevada 2023

Nevada Man Pleads Guilty to Role in Transnational Cybercrime Organization

Sergey Medvedev, a 33-year-old Russian national, pleaded guilty on [current date] to RICO conspiracy in the District of Nevada. Medvedev, also known as “Stells,” “segmed,” and “serjbear,” is one of the leaders of the Infraud Organization.

Infraud was an Internet-based cybercriminal enterprise that engaged in the large-scale acquisition, sale, and dissemination of stolen identities, compromised debit and credit cards, personally identifiable information, financial and banking information, computer malware, and other contraband.

According to the indictment, the Infraud Organization was created in October 2010 by Svyatoslav Bondarenko, also known as “Obnon,” “Rector,” and “Helkern,” to promote and grow interest in the Infraud Organization as the premier destination for “carding”—purchasing retail items with counterfeit or stolen credit card information—on the Internet.

Under the slogan, “In Fraud We Trust,” the organization directed traffic and potential purchasers to the automated vending sites of its members, which served as online conduits to traffic in stolen means of identification, stolen financial and banking information, malware, and other illicit goods. It also provided an escrow service to facilitate illicit digital currency transactions among its members and employed screening protocols that purported to ensure only high quality vendors of stolen cards, personally identifiable information, and other contraband were permitted to advertise to members.

Infraud had 10,901 registered members in March 2017 and inflicted approximately $2.2 billion in intended losses and more than $568 million in actual losses on a wide swath of financial institutions, merchants, and private individuals during its seven-year history.

The investigation was conducted by the Las Vegas Office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Henderson, Nevada Police Department. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in securing the defendant’s extradition from Thailand.

Medvedev pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge James C. Mahan in the District of Nevada. His sentencing is pending.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/russian-national-pleads-guilty-role-transnational-cybercrime-organization-responsible-more