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U.S. Court Finds Russian Lawmaker’s Son Guilty of Hacking, Identity Theft

August 27, 2016 Cholo Brooks The World 0

By Charley Lanyon

Roman's father, Valery Seleznev, at a press conference in Moscow. Photo: DMITRY SEREBRYAKOV
Roman’s father, Valery Seleznev, at a press conference in Moscow. Photo: DMITRY SEREBRYAKOV

A jury in Seattle yesterday handed down 38 guilty verdicts to the son of an influential Russian politician over the theft of millions of credit-card numbers. Roman Seleznev was convicted of charges including wire fraud, obtaining information from a protected computer, aggravated identity theft, and possession of 15 or more unauthorized access devices.

The case ratcheted up already-high tensions between Russia and the United States, mainly because Seleznev’s father, Valery Seleznev, is a member of the Russian parliament and a prominent ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin. Valery had described his son’s extradition to the U.S. as “kidnapping.”

The elder Seleznev has long protested his son’s innocence, claiming that Roman hasn’t been proficient with computers since being disabled in a terrorist bombing in Morocco in 2011. READ MORE OF THIS STORY

SOURCES: Intelligencer Online

 

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About Cholo Brooks 15580 Articles
Joel Cholo Brooks is a Liberian journalist who previously worked for several international news outlets including the BBC African Service. He is the CEO of the Global News Network which publishes two local weeklies, The Star and The GNN-Liberia Newspapers. He is a member of the Press Union Of Liberia (PUL) since 1986, and several other international organizations of journalists, and is currently contributing to the South Africa Broadcasting Corporation as Liberia Correspondent.