A Canadian man was sentenced to three years in prison after he was accused of trafficking stolen identities of U.S. citizens on the darknet, federal prosecutors say.
Authorities first arrested Dmitriev while he was in Greece in September 2020, and officials executed a search warrant on his residence where they found a computer with emails regarding the buying and selling of identity information, according to the FBI release.
According to federal officials, Dmitriev purchased and sold 1,764 items, with the vast majority being stolen identities and identity information.
Additionally, Dmitriev was found to be collaborating with “the Dark Overlord,” (TDO) a cyber-extortionist group, and was involved in the following incidents, prosecutors say:
- “On June 16, 2016, Dmitriev sent TDO access credentials for a New York dentist that Dmitriev had purchased on a criminal marketplace. The dentist was subsequently breached and extorted by TDO.
- On July 11, 2016, Dmitriev received a spreadsheet from TDO containing approximately 200,000 stolen identities.
- On May 24, 2017, Dmitriev sold information stolen by TDO that contained the identity of a victim living in La Quinta, California.”
At least five of Dmitriev’s victims lived in Northern Georgia, the district he pleaded guilty in, according to the release.
“This defendant profited off buying and selling people’s stolen identities, including victims in this district,” U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine said in the release. “As a result of the diligence of federal agents coupled with valuable cooperation of Greek law enforcement, Dmitriev was arrested, extradited, and is now sentenced to federal prison.”
Dmitriev was sentenced to three years in prison, which will be followed by three years of supervised release, the release stated.
