Posts Tagged ‘FBI’
Medicare Defrauded of $10.1 Million in Power Wheelchair Scheme-FBI Press Release
Los Angeles – Doctor & Patient Recruiter Plead Guilty in Defrauding Medicare
WASHINGTON—A Los Angeles-area doctor and a patient recruiter pleaded guilty today for their roles in a power wheelchair fraud scheme that defrauded Medicare of over $10.1 million.
The plea was announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney André Birotte Jr. of the Central District of California; Glenn R. Ferry, Special Agent in Charge for the Los Angeles Region of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); Steven Martinez, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office; and Joseph Fendrick, Special Agent in Charge of the California Department of Justice, Bureau of Medi-Cal Fraud and Elder Abuse.
Dr. Emmanuel Ayodele, 65, of Los Angeles, and Alejandro Maciel, 43, of Huntington Park, California, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge George Wu in the Central District of California to one count of health care fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, respectively.
Ayodele admitted that he defrauded Medicare by participating in a power wheelchair fraud scheme with the operators of fraudulent durable medical equipment (DME) supply companies. According to court documents, DME suppliers provided Ayodele with patients recruited by street-level patient recruiters or “marketers,” who illegally solicited people with Medicare benefits for power wheelchairs and other DME that the people did not need. In court documents, Maciel admitted that he was one of these marketers.
Maciel admitted that he approached people at their homes, swap meets, grocery stores, and other locations and made various misrepresentations to the people about his true identity and Medicare. Maciel admitted that these misrepresentations allowed him to gain the trust of Medicare beneficiaries and convince them to provide him with their Medicare billing and personal information, which Maciel, Ayodele, and their co-conspirators used to defraud Medicare. Maciel also admitted that, through his misrepresentations, he convinced people to travel with him to fraudulent medical clinics and DME supply companies owned and operated by his co-conspirators. Ayodele admitted that he owned one of these fraudulent medical clinics, Beth Medical Clinic, which he operated in Los Angeles.
Ayodele admitted that, at Beth Medical, he wrote medically unnecessary prescriptions for power wheelchairs and DME. Ayodele admitted he knew that the DME supply companies used the medically unnecessary prescriptions and documents that he wrote to submit claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary power wheelchairs and DME. For example, Ayodele admitted that the operators of fraudulent DME supply company Bonfee Inc., who were indicted with Ayodele and Maciel on Medicare fraud charges, paid Ayodele to write a medically unnecessary power wheelchair prescription for one of Bonfee’s customers and then used that prescription to submit a false power wheelchair claim to Medicare that totaled over $6,000.
Maciel admitted that his profit from the scheme came in the form of illegal kickbacks paid to him for every person whose Medicare billing and personal information his co-conspirators successfully used to bill Medicare for power wheelchairs or other items of DME. According to court documents, once his co-conspirators successfully billed Medicare, Maciel delivered the power wheelchairs and other DME to the people whom he recruited. During these deliveries, Maciel observed that the people could walk and that they did not have a legitimate need for the wheelchairs and other DME.
As a result of their conduct, Ayodele and Maciel admitted that they and the owners and operators of Bonfee, Lutemi Medical Supplies, and other fraudulent DME companies submitted and caused to be submitted over $10,132,178 in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare. Ayodele and Maciel admitted that Medicare paid Bonfee and the other DME supply companies over $5,388,754 on these false and fraudulent claims.
Two of Ayodele and Maciel’s co-defendants, Charles Agbu, a former pastor who owned Bonfee, and Dr. Juan Van Putten, have pleaded guilty to Medicare fraud charges and are scheduled for sentencing on August 15, 2013, and September 26, 2013, respectively. Ayodele and Maciel’s other co-defendants, Obiageli Agbu and Candalaria Estrada, are scheduled for trial on July 9, 2013.
The owner of Lutemi, Olufunke Fadojutimi, a registered nurse, was arrested on May 14, 2013, on Medicare fraud charges. Fadojutimi is scheduled for trial on October 22, 2013. Defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
At sentencing, scheduled for September 30, 2013, Ayodele and Maciel each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Jonathan T. Baum, Alexander Porter, William Kanellis and Blanca Quintero of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The case is being investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG, and the California Department of Justice.
The case was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations are part of the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), a joint initiative announced in May 2009 between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country.
Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,500 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $5 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
3 Steps to Protect Your Identity From Online Internet Criminal Activity
Hackers hack because they can. They hack to steal YOUR identity. They don’t care they don’t know you. Whether it is through your email, a spoofed (fake) email requests, even links to connect from LinkedIn, hackers can add malware or key-logger programs to your computer to scrounge around for you to provide – and what you may consider – protected information.
In the case of a key logger program, hackers can access your passwords, account numbers, bank information and even your employer information. Once hackers gain access to this information, they use it to re-invent themselves as you, get a new drivers license, start new credit cards or even buy property. Identity thieves abound and the most frustrating thing is only one in 700 identity thieves are ever arrested. Being careful when on-line is critical. Here are three actions you can take today to ensure your critical information stays private:
1. Install a firewall on your computer and digital devices such as AVG, Avast or Lookout
2. Install an anti-malware program and check and run it monthly
3. Download password generator program software from sites like Keepass, Lastpass, or Roboform
Identity theft is on the rise. The IC3 (Internet Crime Complaint Center- partnership between the FBI, the National White Collar Crime Center and the Bureau of Justice) received and processed 289,874 complaints, averaging more than 24,000 complaints per month of identity theft. This is 8.3 percent over the previous full year. For more information read the IC3 crime report.
Want to learn more about on-line safety, protecting your identity and recovery if it is stolen connect with The Identity Advocate : http://www.theidentityadvocate.com/identity-theft-protection.php
Related Blog Posts:
http://www.theidentityadvocate.com/blog/identity-theft/fbi-new-e-scams-warnings
Cyber Criminals Using Photo-Sharing Programs to Compromise Computers – FBI Press Release
The FBI has seen an increase in cyber criminals who use online photo-sharing programs to perpetrate scams and harm victims’ computers. These criminals advertise vehicles online but will not provide pictures in the advertisement. They will send photos on request. Sometimes the photo is a single file sent as an e-mail attachment, and sometimes the victim receives a link to an online photo gallery.
The photos can and often contain malicious software that infects the victim’s computer, directing the user to fake websites that look nearly identical to the real sites where the original advertisement was seen. The cyber criminals run all aspects of these fake websites, including “tech support” or “live chat support” and any “recommended” escrow services. After the victim agrees to purchase the item and makes the payment, the criminals stop responding to correspondence. The victims never receive any merchandise.
The FBI urges consumers to protect themselves when shopping online. Here are a few tips for staying safe:
- Be cautious if you lose an auction on an auction site but the seller contacts you later saying the original bidder fell through.
- Make sure websites are secure and authenticated before you purchase an item online. Use only well-known escrow services.
- Research to determine if a car dealership is real and how long it has been in business.
- Be wary if the price for the item you’d like to buy is severely undervalued; if it is, the item is likely fraudulent.
- Scan files before downloading them to your computer.
- Keep your computer software, including the operating system, updated with the latest patches.
- Ensure your anti-virus software and firewalls are current—they can help prevent malware infections.
If you have fallen victim to this type of scam, file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.
If you need education and resources to protect your identity click on http://www.theidentityadvocate.com/identity-advocate-services.php
Forty Defendents Charged in Identity Theft through Fraudulent Tax Filings – FBI Press Release
Forty Defendants Charged in Separate Schemes that Resulted in Thousands of Identities Stolen and Millions of Dollars in Identity Theft Tax Filings
U.S. Attorney’s Office October 10, 2012
Southern District of Florida (313) 226-9100
MIAMI—Federal charges were filed today against 40 defendants in 20 separate cases, dealing with thousands of stolen identities and millions of dollars of fraudulent identity theft tax filings. Today’s cases reaffirm the joint federal and local commitment to crack-down on stolen identity tax refund (SITR) fraud perpetrators.
The charges were announced by Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; Richard Weber, Chief, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CI); Paula Reid, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service (USSS); Michael B. Steinbach, Acting Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Miami Field Office; Antonio J. Gomez, Acting Inspector in Charge; U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPS), Miami Division; Guy Fallen, Special Agent in Charge, Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG); Kelly R. Jackson, Special Agent in Charge, IRS-CI, St. Paul Field Office; Steven Steinberg, Chief, Aventura, Fla., Police Department; Larry Gomer, Interim Chief, North Miami Beach Police Department; and Juan Santana, Chief, Miami-Dade Police Department.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, Florida had the highest rate of identity theft in the United States in 2011. While identity theft in Florida ranks highest in the United States, the identity theft rate in Miami has reached near epidemic proportions. Florida’s rate of 178 complaints per 100,000 residents—the highest in the United States—is dwarfed by the Miami rate of 324.1 complaints per 100,000 residents.
Moreover, a September 2012 report by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) determined that Florida has the highest rate of stolen identity tax refund fraud in the United States. The report identified 74,496 potentially fraudulent returns filed in Miami resulting in more than $280 million in bogus refunds. Miami’s per capita number of false returns based on identity theft was 46 times the national average, and its per capita SITR fraud dollar value was more than 70 times the national average. This problem is projected to grow: the TIGTA report estimates that the IRS could issue as much as $21 billion in fraudulent tax refunds over the next five years.
In an attempt to combat the rising wave of stolen identity refund scams, and armed with newly enhanced investigative and prosecutorial tools under the Department of Justice’s Tax Directive 144, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida established the South Florida Identity Theft Tax Fraud Strike Force. The members of the strike force include IRS-CI, U.S. Secret Service, FBI, USPS, City of Aventura Police Department, Miami-Dade Police Department, North Miami Beach Police Department and the SSA-OIG. The focus of the strike force is to investigate and prosecute SITR fraud in the Southern District of Florida. Today, U.S. Attorney Ferrer, joined by members of the Identity Theft Tax Fraud Strike Force, announced the most recent results of their investigative efforts.
U.S. Attorney Ferrer said, “So far this year, we have charged a total of 79 individuals responsible for almost $40 million in fraudulent tax refunds obtained through identity theft. The cases being investigated and prosecuted include victims from all walks of life, including police officers, potential U.S. Marine recruits, members of the Armed Forces, holocaust survivors, school children, hospital patients, the elderly and infirm, incarcerated prisoners, and even the dead. In addition, our cases show a troubling change in the nature of these cases, away from traditional white collar criminals to more violent criminals, like gang members and narco-traffickers, who are using stolen identity refund scams to fuel their other, violent, criminal activities. We will continue to crack down on identity thieves who are lining their pockets with our tax dollars and using violence to obtain the personal identification information of others.”
“Today’s announcement should reassure American taxpayers that IRS Criminal Investigation has put into action our pledge to make investigating identify theft and refund fraud a top priority,” said IRS-CI Chief Weber. “Be assured that we are serious about investigating these crimes and, as we capitalize on the collective strength of the Identity Theft Tax Fraud Strike Force, we will succeed in vigorously pursuing the criminals who steal from the American taxpayer.”
“The U.S. Secret Service is glad to be an integral part of the Strike Force coordinated between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Internal Revenue Service to combat this fraud scheme that is plaguing South Florida,” said USSS Special Agent in Charge Reid.
“Identity theft tax fraud has reached an epidemic level and these cases demonstrate that the FBI and its law enforcement partners will devote considerable resources to address the issue,” said FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Steinbach. “Prevention by way of educating the public is also key to reducing the amount of this type fraud. Consequently, we urge the public to visit www.ftc.gov or www.ic3.gov, as it provides detailed information on how to help deter, detect, and defend against identity theft.”
Acting Inspector in Charge of the Miami Division of the USPS Gomez said, “As a member of the Identity Theft Tax Fraud Strike Force, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service will work diligently with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and with law enforcement at the federal, state and local level to protect American citizens from suspects who prey on their identification for financial gain. Our commitment to the South Florida community is to continue to pursue these cases under Mr. Ferrer’s leadership and guidance so that the U.S. Mails are never used as a conduit to defraud unknowing victims of this type of crime.”
Special Agent in Charge of the SSA-OIG Fallen said, “Assuming the identity of another to commit fraud, unfortunately, is a common occurrence. SSA-OIG special agents are well-trained to detect, investigate, and locate identity thieves, and SSA/OIG, in concert with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, will investigate and prosecute those who commit identity theft and defraud Social Security trust funds.”
“It is through the collaborative efforts of our agencies that we have been successful in investigating and prosecuting tax fraud in Miami-Dade County. We are pleased with the outcome and will continue to work together with our partner agencies in order to make positive impacts on our community,” said Miami-Dade Police Department Chief Santana.
An indictment is only an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The cases announced today include:
United States v. Serge St-Vil, et al., Case No. 12-20768-CR-Scola
United States v. Rodney Saint Fleur, Case No. 12-20772-CR-Scola
United States v. Lineten Belizaire, et al., Case No. 12-20763-CR-Altonaga
United States v. Frantz Pierre, et al., Case No. 12-20696-CR-Cooke
United States v. Jean Noel, et al., Case No. 12-20740-CR-Dimitrouleas
United States v. Douglas Michael Young, et al., Case No. 12-20767-CR-Dimitrouleas
United States v. Bridgette Piedra and Jane Piedra, Case No. 12-20761-CR-Ungaro
United States v. Rose Mary Steed and Demetrice Nicole Steed, Case No. 12-20773-CR-Huck
United States v. Michael Wilson, Case No.12- 60253-CR-Cohn
United States v. Johnny Alexander Melo, Case No. 12-20762-CR-Graham
United States v. Arthy Icart and Charlton Escarmant, Case No. 12-20764-CR-Lenard
United States v. Michlson LaRochelle, Case No. 12-14074-CR-Graham
United States v. Alexander Louis, Case No. 12-60250-CR-Williams
United States v. Vildeon Sajouse, Case No. 12-3364-MJ-Palermo
United States v. Frantz Auguste, Case No. 12-3363-MJ-Palermo
United States v. Cesar Coureaux, Case No. 12-20708-CR-Altonaga
United States v. Math Benjamin, Case No. 12-20707-CR-Cooke
United States v. Thierry Audren, Case No. 12-20738-CR-Williams
United States v. Natoya Mashea Handy, Case No. 12-20771-CR-Rosenbaum
United States v. Luis Enrique Ledee Bernard a/k/a Luis L. Bernard, Case No. 12-20776- CR-Moreno
International Internet Scam Hotspots
Check out how and wherefores of an International Scams online ~ 
From: Background Check Guide
FBI press release – $63 Million Medicare Healthcare Fraud Scheme from DOJ, FBI, HHS
Miami-Area Resident Pleads Guilty to Participating in $63 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme
U.S. Department of Justice June 27, 2012
Office of Public Affairs (202) 514-2007/TDD (202) 514-1888
WASHINGTON—A Miami-area resident pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Miami for her role in a health care fraud scheme that resulted in the submission of more than $63 million in fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicaid, announced the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Sarah Da Silva Keller, 27, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke in Miami to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Keller admitted to participating in a fraud scheme that was orchestrated by the owner and operators of Health Care Solutions Network (HCSN), which operated purported partial hospitalization programs (PHPs), a form of intensive mental health treatment for severe mental illness.
According to an indictment unsealed on May 2, 2012, HCSN paid kickbacks to owners and operators of assisted living facilities in exchange for referring Medicare beneficiaries to HCSN for PHP treatment that was unnecessary and, in many instances, not provided. According to court documents, Keller admitted that she falsified records at the direction of others so that HCSN could bill Medicare for patients who did not receive the services from HCSN. Keller knew that the falsification of these records was part of a plan for HCSN to commit health care fraud.
At sentencing, scheduled for Oct. 17, 2012, Keller faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count.
Nine other charged defendants, including the owner and operators of HCSN, await trial before U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty at trial.
Today’s guilty plea was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida; Xanthi C. Mangum, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; and Special Agent-in-Charge Christopher B. Dennis of the HHS Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations Miami office.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Steven Kim, William Parente and Allan Medina of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. The case was investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG and Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
Since their inception in March 2007, Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in nine locations have charged more than 1,330 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for more than $4 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.
To learn more about the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), go to: www.stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Identity Theft and nearly Five Year Prison Sentence – FBI Press Release
Stockton Man Sentenced to Almost Five Years in Prison for Identity Theft
U.S. Attorney’s Office May 31, 2012
Eastern District of California (916) 554-2700
SACRAMENTO, CA—Michael Garcia, 39, of Stockton, was sentenced today by United States District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. to 57 months in prison for fraud in connection with computers and in connection with an access device, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, Garcia was employed as a technician by a contractor that provided information technology (IT) assistance to third parties. While employed there, Garcia accessed the computer servers of a law firm and an accountant firm without their knowledge or authorization and downloaded the personal information of more than 1,450 clients and employees. Garcia maintained this information on his computer and elsewhere.
According to court documents, Garcia and others used this personal and financial information to make counterfeited identification documents including driver’s licenses and military identification. They used the information to open bank accounts, draft bank checks, make cash withdrawals, obtain loans and lines of credit, and make unauthorized purchases. Additionally, Garcia accompanied others who wore stolen U.S. Customs and Border Protection uniforms to carry out certain fraudulent transactions, such as cashing checks, in the belief that the uniforms gave them more credibility. When arrested, Garcia possessed counterfeit California driver’s licenses, one of which bore his photo but with the name of a victim. The loss is more than $136,000.
Today in court, an employee of the accounting firm where Garcia unlawfully accessed the personal financial information told of the severe hardship suffered by the firm because of Garcia’s actions, as well as the personal toll she experienced because of Garcia’s breach of trust. Judge England commented that identity theft cases, particularly those where there has been an abuse of trust, negatively affect many lives.
This case was the product of an extensive investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Todd Pickles and Robin Taylor prosecuted the case.
FBI New E-Scams & Warnings
Citadel Malware Delivers Reveton Ransomware in Attempts to Extort Money
05/30/12—The IC3 has been made aware of a new Citadel malware platform used to deliver ransomware, named Reveton. The ransomware lures the victim to a drive-by download website, at which time the ransomware is installed on the user’s computer. Once installed, the computer freezes and a screen is displayed warning the user they have violated United States federal law. The message further declares the user’s IP address was identified by the Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section as visiting child pornography and other illegal content.
To unlock the computer, the user is instructed to pay a $100 fine to the U.S. Department of Justice using prepaid money card services. The geographic location of the user’s IP address determines what payment services are offered. In addition to the ransomware, the Citadel malware continues to operate on the compromised computer and can be used to commit online banking and credit card fraud.
This is an attempt to extort money with the additional possibility of the victim’s computer being used to participate in online bank fraud. If you have received this or something similar, do not follow payment instructions.
It is suggested that you:
Contact your banking institutions.
File a complaint at www.IC3.gov.
FBI Warning for Travlers-Laptops-and Hotel Connections
Malware is being Installed on Travelers’ Laptops Through Software Updates on Hotel Internet Connections
Recent analysis from the FBI and other government agencies demonstrates that malicious actors are targeting travelers abroad through pop-up windows while they are establishing an Internet connection in their hotel rooms.
Recently, there have been instances of travelers’ laptops being infected with malicious software while using hotel Internet connections. In these instances, the traveler was attempting to set up the hotel room Internet connection and was presented with a pop-up window notifying the user to update a widely used software product. If the user clicked to accept and install the update, malicious software was installed on the laptop. The pop-up window appeared to be offering a routine update to a legitimate software product for which updates are frequently available.
The FBI recommends that all government, private industry, and academic personnel who travel abroad take extra caution before updating software products through their hotel Internet connection. Checking the author or digital certificate of any prompted update to see if it corresponds to the software vendor may reveal an attempted attack. The FBI also recommends that travelers perform software updates on laptops immediately before traveling, and that they download software updates directly from the software vendor’s website if updates are necessary while abroad.
Anyone who believes they have been a target of this type of attack should immediately contact their local FBI office and promptly report it to the IC3’s website at www.IC3.gov. The IC3’s complaint database links complaints together to refer them to the appropriate law enforcement agency for case consideration. The complaint information is also used to identify emerging trends and patterns.
FBI Press Release – sale and distribution of stolen credit card numbers
Federal Courts Order Seizure of 36 Website Domains Involved in Selling Stolen Credit Card Numbers
U.S. Department of Justice April 26, 2012
Office of Public Affairs (202) 514-2007/ (202) 514-1888
WASHINGTON—Seizure orders have been executed against 36 domain names of websites engaged in the illegal sale and distribution of stolen credit card numbers, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride of the Eastern District of Virginia, and Acting Executive Assistant Director Kevin Perkins of the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch, announced today.
The seizures are the result of Operation Wreaking hAVoC, an FBI and Justice Department operation targeting the sale of stolen credit card numbers via the Internet. The operation was coordinated with international law enforcement, including the United Kingdom’s Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).
The 36 seized domains are in the custody of the federal government. Visitors to the sites will now find a seizure banner that notifies them that the domain name has been seized by federal authorities.
“The websites we are targeting today were commercial outlets for stolen credit card information,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “By making this information available on the Internet, these websites facilitated fraud on credit card holders around the world. The actions announced today are the result of extraordinary coordination with our international law enforcement partners and reflect our commitment to use every tool at our disposal to shut down fraudulent, criminal enterprises.”
“Countless lives are thrown into financial turmoil because of these websites,” said U.S. Attorney MacBride. “With a few simple clicks, thousands of stolen credit card numbers can be bought or sold to fraudsters anywhere in the world. Today’s seizures are part of an ongoing campaign to disrupt this online market regardless of where it operates.”
“By seizing the websites the criminal underground uses to blatantly sell stolen personal information, Operation Wreaking hAVoC shows that we are committed to protecting individuals online and preventing criminals from using the Internet to line their pockets,” said FBI Acting Executive Assistant Director Perkins. “The FBI and our partners around the world are committed to disabling these criminal networks. No single law enforcement agency can fight cyber crime on its own, and the FBI is proud to be a part of such an outstanding effort by all of the participating agencies.”
The websites of the seized domain names are commonly referred to as Automated Vending Carts (AVCs). An AVC is a website that functions as an open-ended invitation to any visitor to purchase stolen credit card numbers. AVCs allow a user to buy stolen credit card data over the Internet, even using an online shopping cart, just like a traditional online retailer. Some AVC sites allow a buyer to select which type of credit card number to purchase, the account’s country of origin, and, in some cases, the state in which the account holder lives. AVCs allow sellers to traffic stolen credit card data without communicating directly with buyers.
During this operation, law enforcement officials made undercover purchases of credit card numbers, including credit card numbers issued by Bank of America, SunTrust, and Capital One. The banks confirmed that the sites were not authorized to sell the credit card numbers. Seizure orders were obtained from a federal magistrate judge in the Eastern District of Virginia.
This U.S. operation was led by FBI’s Washington Field Office; the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property and Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Sections of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. The FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania also assisted in the investigation.
The international operation was led by the United Kingdom’s SOCA. The Australian Federal Police (AFP); German Bundeskriminalamt (BKA); United Kingdom’s Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit (DCPCU); Macedonian Ministry of Interior Cyber Crime Unit (MOI); Ukraine Ministry of Internal Affairs; Romanian Ministry of Interior; and the Dutch High-Tech Crimes Unit (KLPD) provided assistance. Activities conducted by these international law enforcement agencies included arrests of AVC operators and purchasers, additional domain seizures, and data seizures.
