Darkmarket fraudster could face 10 years in jail

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One of the men responsible for setting up a website selling stolen credit card details may face up to 10 years in jail after admitting his guilt.

Renukanth Subramaniam, a 33-year-old pizza delivery man, ran darkmarket.ws from a café near his home in Wembley, north-west London, for over two years, helping criminals scam over £100 million from unsuspecting credit card users.

The site had 2,000 subscribers who were able to log on and buy the stolen data direct to do with it as they pleased. Darkmarket even kept them up to date with the newest card information so they could use it before anything was cancelled by the owner.

He handed himself in back in 2007 and is now being held in remand alongside his colleague John McHugh after both admitted conspiracy to defraud at Blackfriars Crown Court this week.

The site itself was only shut down in 2008 following a two year undercover operation run by the FBI and the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA).

Now the pair are awaiting sentencing, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, although no date has been released yet as to when the courts will make their decision.

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