SEATTLE — A federal judge on Friday handed down the longest sentence ever imposed in the U.S. for a cybercrime case to the son of a member of the Russian Parliament convicted of hacking into more than 500 U.S. businesses and stealing millions of credit card numbers, which he then sold on special websites.
Roman Seleznev was sentenced to 27 years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $170 million in restitution to the businesses and banks that were the victims of his multiyear scheme.
Before his sentencing, Seleznev asked U.S. District Judge Richard Jones for leniency. He apologized to his victims and said he was remorseful for his crimes, but he urged the judge to consider his medical problems, the result of being caught in a terrorist bombing in 2011, in deciding his prison term.
“I plead, pray and beg your honor for mercy,” he said.
But Jones told Seleznev that the bombing in Morocco “was an invitation to right your wrongs and recognize you were given a second chance in life.” But instead, Jones said Seleznev “amassed a fortune” at the expense of hundreds of small businesses.
“You were driven by one goal: greed,” Jones said.
Seleznev was indicted in 2011 and captured in 2014. U.S. Secret Service agents, with the help of local police, arrested Seleznev in the Maldives as he and his girlfriend arrived at an airport on their way back to Russia. The agents flew him to Guam, where he made his first court appearance, and then to Seattle, where he was placed in federal custody.
Last August, a jury found him guilty on 38 charges, including nine counts of hacking and 10 counts of wire fraud.
For 15 years, Seleznev broke into the payment systems of hundreds of businesses. He had more than 2.9 million unique credit card numbers in his possession when he was arrested. His thefts resulted in about $170 million in business losses.