A leader of the international cybercrime organization Infraud – a group responsible for more than $568 million in financial losses – pleaded guilty to Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act charges on June 26.
Following an investigation led by the Las Vegas Office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Henderson, Nevada Police Department, Russian national Sergey Medvedev pleaded guilty in a Nevada district court. Infraud was an internet-based cybercriminal enterprise that partook in largescale identity theft, compromised bank cards, selling personally identifiable information, and computer malware, among other illegal activity until it disbanded in 2018.
According to a Department of Justice (DoJ) press release, Infraud was created in October 2010 to grow as the premier destination for purchasing items online with stolen credit cards. The organization – with a slogan of “In Fraud We Trust” – directed nearly 11,000 registered members to banking information or malware to facilitate the illicit transactions.
DoJ writes that Infraud is responsible for about $2.2 billion in intended losses across entities and “would have continued to do so for the foreseeable future if left unchecked.”
