AP, 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 business and banks that were the victims of his multiyear scheme.
Prior to 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 Morroco “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 business.
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 business and banks that were the victims of his multiyear scheme.
Prior to 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 Morroco “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 business.
