Russian national Burkov extradited to US may face up to 80 years in prison

Russian national Alexey Burkov may face up to 80 years in prison for charges of several counts of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud, the US Department of Justice said in a press release on Tuesday.

"The indictment unsealed today charges Burkov with wire fraud, access device fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, access device fraud, computer intrusions, identity theft, and money laundering," the press release said. Burkov may face up to 80 years in prison if found guilty on all charges.

"According to court documents, Burkov allegedly ran a website called 'Cardplanet' that sold payment card numbers (e.g., debit and credit cards) that had been stolen primarily through computer intrusions. Many of the cards offered for sale belonged to U.S. citizens. The stolen credit card data from more than 150,000 compromised payment cards was allegedly sold on Burkov's site and has resulted in over $20 million in fraudulent purchases made on U.S. credit cards," the press release said.

"Additionally, Burkov allegedly ran another online Cybercrime Forum that served as an invite-only club where elite cybercriminals could meet and post in a secure location to plan various cybercrimes, to buy and sell stolen goods and services, such as personal identifying information and malicious software, and other criminal services, such as money laundering and hacking devices," the press release added.

Burkov was brought to the United States on Monday evening after he was extradited from Israel.