WASHINGTON, November 19 (RIA Novosti) – A Russian national accused of setting up an online fraud ring that used stolen credit card details to defraud US retailers of millions of dollars has pleaded not guilty in a Pittsburgh court, according to US media reports.
Michigan-based Artur Gorlov, 28, who allegedly used the online pseudonym “Evilvodka,” was indicted on charges of conspiracy and wire fraud in 2011, but he remained at large until arrested by US authorities as he disembarked from a plane at New York’s JFK airport last month, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Prosecutors have accused Gorlov of helping establish a group called “Atlanta Alliance,” which between 2005 and 2010 is believed to have run a network that used stolen credit card data to buy goods inside the United States.
According to prosecutors, the merchandise was dispatched to members of a second network who repackaged the goods and shipped them outside the US to destinations selected by Gorlov, the Tribune-Review reported Monday.
Prosecutors say Gorlov used a set of websites to direct the networks and also to resell the misappropriated merchandise.
Authorities also say he used the stolen credit cards to pay the fraud ring’s shipping costs and manipulated address details to circumvent US postal service security measures.
Gorlov entered his not guilty plea Monday, and also waived his right to a detention hearing. He is currently being held without bail, the Tribune-Review reported.
