WASHINGTON, October 25 (RIA Novosti) – A Ukrainian man labeled by US authorities as “one of the premier vendors of stolen credit card data in the world” has appeared in a Florida court to face fraud charges in the state, the Sun Sentinel has reported.
Speaking through an interpreter Egor Shevelev, 27, entered a plea of not guilty in US federal court in Fort Lauderdale to charges he was paid for stolen credit card numbers and forged credit cards that were used to commit identity theft between September 2007 and May 10, 2008, in several South Florida counties.
The federal indictment included few details of the crimes in Florida, although the Sun Sentinel reported that investigators involved in the case were overheard saying that the charges deal with many millions of dollars worth of fraud.
Shevelev has already been sentenced to up to 40 years in prison in New York after being found guilty of multiple charges in New York State Supreme Court in June.
In his heyday, Shevelev who used the online name “Eskalibur,” was part of an international cybercrime ring that reached across the globe from Russia to the Czech Republic to the United States.
Today however he is penniless: Shevelev testified Wednesday that he has neither money nor assets remaining anywhere in the world and so he will be represented in Florida by a public defender.
Prosecutor Marc Anton agreed to a $250,000 bond, although this was described as a “legal formality” by the Sun Sentinel as Shevelev will remain incarcerated on his New York convictions while the additional Florida charges are being tried.
