The organized criminal group involved in this case perpetrated several cybercrimes, one of which was online auction fraud. According to the indictment, this fraud was perpetrated by members of the group by posting “hundreds or thousands of listings for automobiles, motorcycles, and other high-priced goods on eBay and similar auction sites.” The images of the items being sold that were included in these postings were infected with malware (i.e., the Bayrob Trojan). When individuals clicked on the images of the items, their devices were infected with the malware, which was designed to redirect these individuals to webpages that looked identical to the legitimate websites of the auction sites. For example, their fake eBay pages included the trademark of the organization and had a similar layout, design, and style of the legitimate eBay webpages with an important key difference. The fake eBay webpages prompted users to pay for the auctioned items using something called an “eBay escrow agent,” which does not exist on the legitimate platform. This purported service claimed to hold the money of the buyer in escrow until the item was received and the buyer was satisfied with the condition of the item delivered before the buyer’s funds were released to the seller. The webpages also included a live chat function that supposedly enabled individuals to speak with customer service agents of eBay; of course, these were not real eBay customer service agents, they were members of the group. The victims of this online auction fraud never received the items they paid for and never received a refund for the money they paid for the non-delivered items.
One of the defendants (T.D.) pled guilty to aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, and conspiracy offences relating to wire fraud and money laundering, and received 10 years imprisonment for his crimes. B.N. and R.M. were charged, convicted, and sentenced to 20 and 18 years’ imprisonment, respectively, for aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, and conspiracy offences relating to wire fraud and money laundering, as well as conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit service marks.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
The defendant Tiberiu Danet pled guilty to five counts of aggravated identity theft, one count of wire fraud and conspiracy to engage in wire fraud, one count of conspiracy, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
He was sentenced to a prison term of 10 years on 8 January 2020.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
The two defendants Bogdan Nicolescu and Radu Miclaus were tried and convicted for wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy, conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit marks, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
On 6 December 2019, the defendants were sentenced to 20 and 18 years’ imprisonment, respectively.
The defendants filed appeals on 17 and 23 December 2019, respectively. At the time of writing, the proceedings in relation to the appeals were not available.
18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 1349
Conspiracy to Commit Fraud by wire, radio, or television
18 U.S.C. § 1343
Fraud by wire, radio, or television
18 U.S.C. § 371
Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United States
18 U.S.C. § 2320
Conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods or services
The defendant was charged with conspiring to traffic in counterfeit service marks pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2320(a)(1).
18 U.S.C. § 1028A
Aggravated Identity Theft
Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering
18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 1349
Conspiracy to Commit Fraud by wire, radio, or television
18 U.S.C. § 1343
Fraud by wire, radio, or television
18 U.S.C. § 371
Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United States
18 U.S.C. § 2320
Conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods or services
The defendant was charged with conspiring to knowingly use counterfeit service marks pursuant so 18 U.S.C. § 2320(a)(1).
18 U.S.C. § 1028A
Aggravated Identity Theft
Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering
18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 1349
Conspiracy to Commit Fraud by wire, radio, or television
18 U.S.C. § 1343
Fraud by wire, radio, or television
18 U.S.C. § 371
Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United States
18 U.S.C. § 2320
Conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods or services
The defendant was charged with conspiring to knowingly use counterfeit service marks pursuant so 18 U.S.C. § 2320(a)(1).
18 U.S.C. § 1028A
Aggravated Identity Theft
Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio
United States of America v. Bogdan Nicolescu, Tiberiu Danet, and Radu Miclaus, No. 1:16-CR-00224 (N.D. Ohio July 8, 2016)
United States of America v. Tiberiu Danet, No. 1:16-CR-00224 (N.D. Ohio June 8, 2018)
United States of America v. Bogdan Nicolescu and Radu Miclaus, No. 1:16-CR-00224-PAG (N.D. Ohio November 4, 2019)
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Ohio, “Multiple Victim Case Update - United States v. Nicolescu et al.” (Press release)
U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, “Romanian Hackers Sentenced: Members of Bayrob Criminal Enterprise Infected Thousands of Computers with Malware, Stole Millions of Dollars” 20 February 2020
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, “Two Romanian Cybercriminals Convicted of All 21 Counts Relating to Infecting Over 400,000 Victim Computers with Malware and Stealing Millions of Dollars” 11 April 2019 (Press Release)
