ALEXANDRIA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th June, 2020) A US court sentenced Russian national Alexei Burkov to nine years in prison, six years short of a statutory maximum, after the defendant plead guilty to cybercrime-related charges, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the scene.
Burkov, who was extradited to the United States from Israel, is accused of running two websites for hackers - a floor for trading in stolen payment card data and an "elite cybercriminals" forum. The prosecution said it believes 150,000 cardholders and thousands of financial companies may qualify as victims.
"Your total sentence is 108 months. You will be given a credit for already serving roughly 4.5 years in Israel and here," Eastern District of Virginia Judge T. S. Ellis III said on Friday.
It is currently not clear if this period will be deducted from Burkov's sentence or a less straightforward formula be used.
Burkov was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and will have to pay a restitution of $7,000. The court also required Burkov to forfeit assets amounting to over $1 million.
"I require that you be designated to serve your service in the facility close to Eastern district," Judge Ellis said. "You may have the right to appeal your sentence."
Under a deal with the US government, Burkov pleaded guilty to two counts of the indictment in return for the dismissal of the other three, downsizing the maximum potential penalty from 80 years to 15 years in prison. The defendant admitted to access device fraud and conspiracy to commit access device fraud, identity theft, computer intrusion, wire fraud, and money laundering.
His actual penalty is 108 months in prison on one count and 60 months on the second with both sentences to be served concurrently, which translates to 108 months.
"I didn't give you a maximum penalty of 180 months because I didn't feel it's necessary," the judge said. He admitted, however, that the crimes, which "victimized thousands of credit card holders and issuers", are very "serious and extensive".
"You have a skill and a talent. You are an intelligent man with a much of your life still open to you. You write pages of your life story with the choices you make. Good luck to you, sir," Judge Ellis said.
Burkov's lawyer Gregory Stambaugh called the ruling "very thoughtful." The plea bargain had a provision of waiving the option of the appeal.
Addressing the court in Russian with a consecutive translation into English, Burkov apologized to the US authorities and "everyone he hurt". He promised "to live honestly" in future.
"I repent and really regret my actions in the past. In the early years, when I was a child, I met hackers and chose the wrong path," Burkov, who is now 29 years old, said. "At that time, when I chose this path, I did not distinguish good from bad and made many mistakes. Only in prison did I recognize my guilt."
Burkov was arrested during his trip to Israel in December 2015 on US request. He spent almost four years in Israeli custody fighting unsuccessfully for being sent to Russia and another half a year in an American jail.
Israeli officials speculated that Russia attempted to exchange Burkov for Naama Issachar, a dual US-Israeli citizen who was arrested last year in Moscow en route home from India. She was found guilty of drug-smuggling, sentenced to 7.5 years in prison, swiftly pardoned and sent to Israel.
The prosecution, which recommended a 15-year sentence, claimed that the trade floor for stolen credit cards data committed a combined fraud of $20 million, and revealed that Burkov's second startup was even more malicious - the forum that brought together "elite cybercriminals from all over the world" and offered them "lucrative business arrangements."
"To get there one had to be nominated and vouched for by three people, much like a country club, and a majority vote was needed," a representative for the prosecution said. He added the forum even acted as an arbitration for hackers with the penalty being "kicked out" of the members list.
