Fraudster has been jailed for four years
A FRAUDSTER selling stolen credit card data information on an online forum for criminals has been jailed for more than four years, writes Sofia Mitra-Thakur.
Renukanth Subramaniam, 33, of Lancelot Road, Wembley, was found guilty of conspiracy to defraud at Blackfriars Crown Court and given a custodial sentence of four years and eight months.
Subramanium was the mastermind behind crime networking site DarkMarket, which provided a sophisticated, invitation-only service for criminals to buy and sell information to commit financial crime, with training in fraud techniques and money laundering.
The crook, who used the online nickname 'JiLsi,' was finally snared after an international investigation led by the Serious Organised Crime Agency, assisted by the FBI and US Secret Service.
The site, which enabled criminals to collaborate on deals causing estimated losses worth tens of millions of pounds, was finally shut down in October 2008 after it was infiltrated by undercover officers.
So far five people have been charged in the UK and there have been around 60 arrests worldwide.
Sharon Lemon, deputy director of SOCA, said: "Subramaniam was a loner with a modest lifestyle. He owned three houses but was largely itinerant, moving around between the homes of friends and family members and never staying in one place for long.
"The key to investigations of this sort is finding the evidence to connect the online persona with a living breathing person. Subramaniam went to great trouble to hide his activity.
"SOCA is determined to recover what it can from them. Things don't end with a conviction.
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Wembley & Kingsbury
Chronicle News |
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