WASHINGTON, August 13 (RIA Novosti) – A Russian man who faces decades in prison for allegedly participating in the largest hacking scheme ever prosecuted in the United States has pleaded not guilty in federal court in New Jersey, US media reported.
Dmitry Smilianets, 29, entered the plea Monday in the US District Court for the District of New Jersey following charges on 11 counts of conspiracy, wire fraud and unauthorized access to a computer, the NorthJersey.com news website reported.
NorthJersey.com, Reuters and other media quoted Smilianets’ attorney, Bruce Provda, as saying his client intended to fight the charges and referring to a “procedural problem” and unspecified legal irregularities with his arrest last year in the Netherlands.
Smilianets and four others are accused of conspiring in a worldwide scheme that targeted major corporate networks.
They allegedly stole more than 160 million credit card numbers and caused more than $300 million dollars in losses, according to a July 25 statement issued by the office of Paul Fishman, the US attorney for the district of New Jersey.
Companies that were targeted by the group include NASDAQ, 7-Eleven, Carrefour, JCP, Dow Jones, Euronet, Visa Jordan, Global Payment, Diners Singapore and a number of others, according to prosecutors.
Smilianets was arrested in the Netherlands on June 28, 2012, along with co-accused Vladimir Drinkman. While Smilianets was extradited to the US in September, Drinkman remains in the Netherlands fighting extradition. The three other accused cyber criminals remain at large.
If convicted, Smilianets faces a maximum of 30 years for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 30 more years for wire fraud and five years for each charge of gaining unauthorized access to computers and conspiracy to gain access, Reuters said.
