The U.S. Secret Service arrested a Russian hacker who allegedly masterminded data breaches throughout the U.S. by attacking retail point of sale systems, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Roman Valerevich Seleznev, 30, was arrested July 5 and charged with multiple counts of bank fraud, obtaining information from a protected computer, possessing stolen credit cards and identity theft, according to court documents.
The hacker from Moscow, also known as Track2 in the criminal carding underground, was indicted in 2011 in the Western District of Washington, where he is allegedly tied to more than 180,000 stolen credit cards, the documents said.
The location of his arrest was not released. Seleznev was transported to Guam for an initial appearance and detained for a July 22 hearing, federal officials said.
The indictment, unsealed this week, does not list any major national retailers, but Seleznev allegedly installed malicious software on numerous POS systems between October 2009 and February 2011, the court documents.
In one case, he is accused of stealing hundreds of credit card numbers from a Seattle, Wash., restaurant in 2010, according to the indictment.
The data breach at Broadway Grill resulted in at least $1.7 million in losses to credit card companies, banks and credit unions, including the $11.9 billion BECU in Tukwila, Wash., the documents said.
The restaurant, located in Seattle's Capitol Hill area, went out of business last year, blaming negative publicity related to the wave of credit card fraud, according to previous media reports.
To sell the stolen data, Seleznev allegedly used computer servers around the world, including in Russia, the Ukraine and McClean, Va. He hosted several websites where cybercriminals gathered to sell stolen credit card numbers, the court documents said.
Seleznev is also facing counterfeiting charges in a separate indictment in Nevada, authorities said.
“Cyber crooks should take heed: You cannot hide behind distant keyboards. We will bring you to face justice,” said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan, who leads the Justice Department's Cybercrime and Intellectual Property Enforcement Subcommittee of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee.
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