WASHINGTON—Beata Edina Wagnerne Abonyi, 55, of Budapest, Hungary, has been sentenced to a year in prison on a federal charge stemming from her participation in an international Internet-based fraud scheme that obtained more than $350,000 from people who thought they were buying cars, trucks, and motor homes.
The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen, Jr.; Valerie Parlave, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Niall Meehan, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Field Office of the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service.
Abonyi pled guilty on August 28, 2013, to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, wire fraud and false use of a passport. She was sentenced on November 19, 2013, by the Honorable Reggie B. Walton. The judge also ordered Abonyi to pay $355,107 in restitution and ordered her to forfeit $1,245 and a $395,485 money judgment, which represents the proceeds she obtained through the scheme. Upon completion of her prison term, Abonyi will be placed on three years of supervised release.
According to a statement of offense signed by the defendant, Abonyi and others conspired to carry out the scheme from on or about late February 2013 through the beginning of May 2013. Members of the conspiracy falsely advertised and purported to sell motor vehicles, trucks, and motor homes on websites, targeting buyers located mainly in the United States. With assistance from her co-conspirators, Abonyi used false passports and false driver’s licenses to open bank accounts at four different financial institutions in Virginia. During the course of the scheme, Abonyi came to understand that buyers were being induced to wire money and funds into these accounts for the intended purpose of purchasing the vehicles. She fraudulently withdrew funds from the accounts before the buyers, financial institutions, and law enforcement detected the scheme. Abonyi then wired the falsely obtained funds to co-conspirators here in the United States and overseas. Abonyi admitted that the bank accounts she fraudulently opened received over $350,000 from victims.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen, Assistant Director in Charge Parlave, and Special Agent in Charge Meehan praised those who investigated the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security. They also commended the efforts of Paralegal Specialists Lenisse Edloe, Tasha Harris, and C. Rosalind Pressley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Finally, they acknowledged the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael K. Atkinson and Diane Lucas, who prosecuted the case.
Showing posts with label Internet fraud. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Internet fraud. Show all posts
Friday, November 22, 2013
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Romanian Citizen Involved in Phishing Scheme Sentenced to Four Years in Federal Prison
David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of
Connecticut, and Kimberly K. Mertz, Special Agent in Charge of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that Dragos Razvan Davidescu,
39, a citizen of Romania, was sentenced today by United States District
Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to 48 months of imprisonment for
participating in an extensive Internet phishing scheme.
A phishing scheme uses the Internet to target large numbers of unwary individuals, using fraud and deceit to obtain private personal and financial information such as names, addresses, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, and Social Security numbers. Phishing schemes often work by sending out large numbers of counterfeit e-mail messages that are made to appear as if they originated from legitimate banks, financial institutions, or other companies. The fraudulent e-mail messages ask individuals to click on a hyperlink contained in the e-mail message, which would take the individual to a counterfeit site on the Internet that purports to be the Internet site of the particular bank, financial institution, or company. At the counterfeit Internet site, the individual is then asked to enter information such as the individual’s name, address, and credit or debit card numbers.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in June 2005 a resident of Madison, Connecticut, contacted the FBI in New Haven about a suspicious e-mail that she had received that purported to be from Connecticut-based People’s Bank. The e-mail stated that the recipient’s online banking access profile had been locked and instructed the recipient to click on a link to a web page where the recipient could enter information to “unlock” his or her profile. The web page appeared to originate from People’s Bank, but, as the investigation revealed, was actually hosted on a compromised computer in Minnesota. Any personal identifying and financial information provided by the individual would be sent by e-mail to individuals in Romania, or to a “collector” account, which was an e-mail account used to receive and collect the information obtained through phishing.
Davidescu and others were part of a loose-knit conspiracy of individuals from Craiova, Romania, and neighboring areas that shared files, tools, and stolen information obtained through phishing. The co-conspirators used and shared a number of collector accounts, which contained thousands of e-mail messages that contained credit or debit card numbers, expiration dates, CVV codes, PIN numbers, and other personal identification information such as names, addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers. The co-conspirators then used the personal and financial information to access bank accounts and lines of credit and to withdraw funds without authorization, often from ATMs in Romania.
The investigation revealed that Davidescu was heavily involved in the phishing conspiracy between 2004 and 2006, and he possessed personal and financial information of more than one thousand victims. He also shared a program for harvesting e-mail addresses with another co-conspirator and possessed phishing e-mails and files for creating counterfeit Internet sites.
In addition to People’s Bank, financial institutions and companies targeted by the defendants included Citibank, Capital One, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Comerica Bank, Regions Bank, LaSalle Bank, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo & Co., eBay, and PayPal.
This seven-year investigation has resulted in criminal charges against 19 Romanian citizens. On January 18, 2007, a grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment charging seven defendants with various offenses stemming from this scheme. On November 10, 2010, a grand jury returned a second superseding indictment charging an additional 12 defendants, including Davidescu.
The first three defendants to face charges were extradited from Bulgaria, Croatia, and Canada. Following the ratification in 2010 of an amended treaty on mutual legal assistance between Romania and the United States, Davidescu and six other defendants were extradited from Romania. Davidescu was extradited in December 2011.
On October 10, 2012, Davidescu pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud. Eight of the other extradited defendants also have pleaded guilty, and one was convicted after trial in December 2012. Nine defendants are still being sought.
This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in New Haven, Connecticut.
U.S. Attorney Fein and Special Agent in Charge Mertz also acknowledged the critical assistance provided by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of International Affairs, the FBI Legal Attaché in Bucharest, Interpol, the Romanian National Police, and the United States Marshals Service.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Edward Chang and Sarala Nagala.
A phishing scheme uses the Internet to target large numbers of unwary individuals, using fraud and deceit to obtain private personal and financial information such as names, addresses, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, and Social Security numbers. Phishing schemes often work by sending out large numbers of counterfeit e-mail messages that are made to appear as if they originated from legitimate banks, financial institutions, or other companies. The fraudulent e-mail messages ask individuals to click on a hyperlink contained in the e-mail message, which would take the individual to a counterfeit site on the Internet that purports to be the Internet site of the particular bank, financial institution, or company. At the counterfeit Internet site, the individual is then asked to enter information such as the individual’s name, address, and credit or debit card numbers.
According to court documents and statements made in court, in June 2005 a resident of Madison, Connecticut, contacted the FBI in New Haven about a suspicious e-mail that she had received that purported to be from Connecticut-based People’s Bank. The e-mail stated that the recipient’s online banking access profile had been locked and instructed the recipient to click on a link to a web page where the recipient could enter information to “unlock” his or her profile. The web page appeared to originate from People’s Bank, but, as the investigation revealed, was actually hosted on a compromised computer in Minnesota. Any personal identifying and financial information provided by the individual would be sent by e-mail to individuals in Romania, or to a “collector” account, which was an e-mail account used to receive and collect the information obtained through phishing.
Davidescu and others were part of a loose-knit conspiracy of individuals from Craiova, Romania, and neighboring areas that shared files, tools, and stolen information obtained through phishing. The co-conspirators used and shared a number of collector accounts, which contained thousands of e-mail messages that contained credit or debit card numbers, expiration dates, CVV codes, PIN numbers, and other personal identification information such as names, addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers. The co-conspirators then used the personal and financial information to access bank accounts and lines of credit and to withdraw funds without authorization, often from ATMs in Romania.
The investigation revealed that Davidescu was heavily involved in the phishing conspiracy between 2004 and 2006, and he possessed personal and financial information of more than one thousand victims. He also shared a program for harvesting e-mail addresses with another co-conspirator and possessed phishing e-mails and files for creating counterfeit Internet sites.
In addition to People’s Bank, financial institutions and companies targeted by the defendants included Citibank, Capital One, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Comerica Bank, Regions Bank, LaSalle Bank, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo & Co., eBay, and PayPal.
This seven-year investigation has resulted in criminal charges against 19 Romanian citizens. On January 18, 2007, a grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment charging seven defendants with various offenses stemming from this scheme. On November 10, 2010, a grand jury returned a second superseding indictment charging an additional 12 defendants, including Davidescu.
The first three defendants to face charges were extradited from Bulgaria, Croatia, and Canada. Following the ratification in 2010 of an amended treaty on mutual legal assistance between Romania and the United States, Davidescu and six other defendants were extradited from Romania. Davidescu was extradited in December 2011.
On October 10, 2012, Davidescu pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud. Eight of the other extradited defendants also have pleaded guilty, and one was convicted after trial in December 2012. Nine defendants are still being sought.
This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in New Haven, Connecticut.
U.S. Attorney Fein and Special Agent in Charge Mertz also acknowledged the critical assistance provided by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of International Affairs, the FBI Legal Attaché in Bucharest, Interpol, the Romanian National Police, and the United States Marshals Service.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Edward Chang and Sarala Nagala.
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