U.S. charges Russian hacker in Forbes 400 identity theft probe
A Russian man has been charged with using the identities of people on the Forbes 400 list of wealthy Americans to steal money, the New York Sun tabloid said Friday.
Igor Klopov, 24, and his four alleged accomplices in the U.S. were arrested after they allegedly tried to steal $7 million from a Texas millionaire and political supporter of President George W. Bush, Sam Wyly Jr., the paper quoted the Manhattan district attorney's office as saying.
The men are also accused of stealing $1.5 million from residents of Texas, Oregon and California by assuming their identities, using personal and financial information obtained over the Internet.
One of the accomplices, Westley Watson, is charged with attempting to buy $7 million worth of gold in November using the account that Klopov had a checkbook for after passing himself off as Wyly. But JP Morgran Chase, where the account had been opened, suspected an alleged scam and informed investigators.
In an attempt to gather evidence against Klopov, who was working from his home in Moscow, a member of the Identity Theft Unit assumed the identity of one of his accomplices and lured him from Russia to New York where he was arrested in May. Klopov's accomplices were detained Thursday.
If found guilty, the charges might land Klopov and his associates in jail for 25 years. // RIA "Novosti"
- Naked photo shoot planned for Mexico City
- Kerry Katona expecting another girl
- Anna Nicole Smith's body in morgue amid court fight
- Johnny Knoxville has confessed he has a small penis
- Nude Britney Spears on Bearskin Rug
- Captive Natascha Kampusch was sexually abused - Images
- Angelina Jolie till sleeps with Jenny Shimizu
- Fire of raunchy photos Katie Rees Miss Nevada
- Sex scandal: Romanian consul in Moldova caught on tape
- World's smallest baby to be released from hospital