Russian Citizen Seleznev Sentenced to 14 Years in US Prison

The Justice Department said that the alleged Russian hacker Roman Seleznev would be allowed to serve his time concurrently with a previous jail sentence.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Russian citizen Roman Seleznev has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for participating in a $50-million cyberfraud ring, the US Department of Justice said in a statement on Thursday.

"A Russian cyber-criminal was sentenced today to 14 years in prison for his role in a $50-million cyberfraud ring and for defrauding banks of $9 million through a hacking scheme," the statement said.

The Justice Department added that Seleznev would be allowed to serve his time concurrently with a previous 27-year jail sentence.

Seleznev was convicted in August 2016 of 38 counts of hacking crimes. He was accused of defrauding small business and financial institutions in the United States of more than $169 million. In April, Seleznev was sentenced to 27 years in prison on those charges.

The Justice Department announced earlier that Seleznev has pled guilty to cashing out more than $2 million with five hacked debit card numbers in 2008. The lawyer representing convicted Russian citizen said that defense team planned to pen a letter to US President Donald Trump asking that Seleznev be given the opportunity to serve his sentence in Russia.