Albert "Segvec" Gonzalez was the ringleader, according to the indictments, which were unsealed in San Diego and Boston. He is being held in New York on charges of computer fraud, wire fraud, access-device fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy - a roll call of crimes that could net him life in prison if he's convicted.
Others named in the indictment include three Americans, three Ukrainians, two Chinese nationals and two Eastern Europeans from Belarus and Estonia.
The account information was sold to other criminals who were able to cash out tens of millions of dollars, according to the indictments. Banks in Eastern Europe allegedly laundered the money.
The activities attributed to this group are at the center of the largest and most complex identity theft case ever built in the US, according to the prosecutors.
"If nothing else, this shows that data breaches and identity theft have become global crimes," Matt Cullina, CEO of Identity Theft 911, told CRM Buyer.
The sheer scale of this case, he said, will hopefully serve as a wake-up call to retailers that have not implemented necessary security precautions.
"There are too many retailers out there that are simply unprepared for this kind of crime, both in preventing it and then in how to notify customers," he remarked.
