New York man sentenced to four years in transnational cybercrime scheme

A New York resident was sentenced on Wednesday to four years in prison for participating in a fraudulent cybercrime scheme. 

John Telusma, who pleaded guilty last year to one count of racketeering conspiracy, admitted to buying stolen or compromised credit cards and aiding members of the Infraud Organization in monetizing their fraudulent scheme.

Telusma is the latest defendant to be sentenced for this role in the Infraud scheme. According to the Department of Justice, the organization is a transnational cybercrime enterprise engaged in the sale of fraud-related goods and services, including stolen identities, compromised credit card data and computer malware. 

The organization is said to have purchased and sold more than 4 million stolen credit and debit card numbers, costing the victims of the scheme more than $568 million dollars.

Telusma, who joined the organization in 2011, was an active member who also purchased and fraudulently used compromised credit card numbers for his personal gain, according to court documents.

Last year, Infraud’s co-founder Sergey Medvedev was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Medvedev, a Russian national, pleaded guilty in 2020 to one count of racketeering conspiracy.