Vladimir Zdorovenin, a 55-year-old Russian national accused of carrying out highly sophisticated cybercrimes, was sentenced to three years in prison by a Manhattan federal court.
Zdorovenin – who was arrested in Zurich in March 2011 – was extradited to New York in January 2012 and pleaded guilty to the charges in February 2012.
According to the US Department of Justice, Vladimir and his son, Kirill Zdorovenin, are accused of conspiring to steal personal information, including credit card information, from numerous US citizens between 2004 and 2005 while they were residing in Russia.
To accomplish their mission, they used keyloggers that they installed on their victims' computers. The malware allowed them to access their victims' data when they made online purchases.
The fraudsters transferred, or attempted to transfer, hundreds of thousands of dollars from their victims' accounts to their own accounts, which they had set up in Russia and Latvia.
The hacking continued into online brokerage accounts, with cybercriminals buying and selling thousands of shares in an attempt to manipulate stock prices.
In addition to the prison sentence, Vladimir Zdorovenin will have to pay $1 million (€800,000). He will also have to pay restitution for his illegal actions, but the amount has not yet been determined.
