COURT DOC: Russian Computer Hacker Sentenced to Three Years in Prison

DoJ announced today that Chief United States District Judge John C. Coughenour has sentenced VASILIY GORSHKOV, age 27, of Chelyabinsk, Russia, to serve 36 months in prison for his convictions at trial last year on 20 counts of conspiracy, various computer crimes, and fraud.

According to evidence presented at trial and other court records: GORSHKOV was one of two men from Chelyabinsk, Russia, who were persuaded to travel to the United States as part of an FBI undercover operation. The operation arose out of a nationwide FBI investigation into Russian computer intrusions that were directed at Internet Service Providers, e-commerce sites, and online banks in the United States. The hackers used their unauthorized access to the victims computers to steal credit card information and other personal financial information, and then often tried to extort money from the victims with threats to expose the sensitive data to the public or damage the victims computers. (Source: U.S. Department of Justice)