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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Extradition Sought in Giant ID Theft Case

MANHATTAN (CN) - Federal prosecutors are extraditing a Belarusian man from the Czech Republic on charges of aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and credit card fraud. The complaint accuses Dmitry M. Naskovets of more than 5,000 instances of fraud and helping more than 2,000 clients commit identity theft through his Web site, callservice.biz.

Czech authorities arrested Naskovets on April 15, while Sergey Semashko, a coconspirator who is not named in this indictment, was arrested in Belarus.

Clients who logged on to Naskovets' Web site placed orders in which they provided information on bank account holders, including the name of the bank, identifying account information and what fraudulent transaction to conduct, according to the complaint.

Prosecutors say Naskovets then assigned someone to call the banks and impersonate the account holder. During the call, the impersonator would confirm withdrawals or change account information.

In advertising his services, Naskovets claimed he had more than 2,000 clients and placed "over 5,400 confirmation calls," according to the complaint.

Prosecutors say that in one conversation on Google Talk, Naskovets and Semashko discussed transferring $35,000 from a checking account belonging to a Westchester County resident.

"Dmitry Naskovets's Web site was essentially an online bazaar for dangerous identity thieves," U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said in a statement. "His Web site was especially dangerous because it allegedly was specifically designed to bypass the usual security measures that bank and business customers have come to rely on."

Naskovets is charged with aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and credit card fraud. If convicted, he could face more than 39 years in prison.

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