A Canadian is among 36 people indicted by the U.S. Justice Department for their alleged roles in what has been called the Infraud Organization, an Internet-based cybercriminal enterprise broken up by international police who say it engaged in the large-scale acquisition, sale, and dissemination of stolen identities, compromised debit and credit cards, personally identifiable information, financial and banking information, computer malware, and other contraband.
Edward Lavoile, 29, who the indictment says is also known as “Eddie Lavoie,” “Skizo,” “Eddy Lavoile,” was among those named. The document doesn’t say where he currently lives.
The indictment alleges he became a member of the Infraud in July 2011. “Although only designated a member, he has advertised for sale to fellow Infraud Organization members “fresh” CVV s [verification numbers on the back of a credit card] that he had personally hacked from Canada,” the document alleges. It also alleges that on or about January 13, 2012, Lavoile sent more than 500 compromised credit card numbers to an unindicted co-conspirator.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
The list of those named — some of whom are only known by nicknames — includes 13 people arrested who are from the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Kosovo, and Serbia. The charges come after a grand jury in Las Vegas returned an indictment listing racketeering, conspiracy, and other crimes.
The indictment and arrests, announced Wednesday, “mark one of the largest cyber fraud enterprise prosecutions ever undertaken by the Department of Justice,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Cronan. “As alleged in the indictment, Infraud operated like a business to facilitate cyberfraud on a global scale. Its members allegedly caused more than US$530 million in actual losses to consumers, businesses, and financial institutions alike—and it is alleged that the losses they intended to cause amounted to more than US$2.2 billion. The Department of Justice refuses to allow these cybercriminals to use the perceived anonymity of the Internet as a shield for their crimes. We are committed to working closely with our international counterparts to identify, investigate, and bring to justice the perpetrators of these crimes, wherever in the world they operate.”
Read the original story over at IT World Canada.
