Malware Alarm, Antivirus 2008 and VirusRemover 2008
The U.S. Department of Justice announced today that it has brought indictments in the Northern District of Illinois against three men in connection with a rogue security software scam that bilked victims in more than 60 countries out of more than $100 million.
According to the DOJ news release:
“Two defendants, Bjorn Daniel Sundin and Shaileshkumar P. Jain, with others owned and operated Innovative Marketing Inc. (IM), a company registered in Belize that purported to sell anti-virus and computer performance/repair software through the internet and that operated a subsidiary called Innovative Marketing Ukraine, located in Kiev. The company appeared to close down last year after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed a federal lawsuit in Maryland seeking to end the allegedly fraudulent practices.
“Jain, 40, who was IM’s chief executive officer, is a U.S. citizen and is believed to be living in Ukraine. Sundin, 31, who was IM’s chief technology officer and chief operating officer, is a Swedish citizen and is believed to be in Sweden.
“The third defendant, James Reno, 26, of Amelia, Ohio, with others owned and operated the former Byte Hosting Internet Services, which operated call centers that provided technical and billing support to victim consumers on behalf of IM. Reno is expected to present himself for arraignment at a later date in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
“Sundin and Jain were each charged with 24 counts of wire fraud, and Reno with 12 counts of wire fraud, and all three were charged with one count each of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and computer fraud in a 26-count indictment returned yesterday by a federal grand jury in Chicago. The indictment also seeks forfeiture of approximately $100 million and any and all funds held in a bank account in Kiev.”
News release here: “Ohio Man and Two Foreign Residents Indicted in Alleged Ukraine-Based ‘Scareware’ Fraud Scheme”
Nice!
Tom Kelchner