Russian Spammer Claiming Kremlin Ties Arrives to Face U.S. Feds
Source: Bloomberg
*Spain turned over Peter Levashov to U.S., in rebuff to Russia
*Levashov accused of hijacking computers with Kelihos botnet
A Russian programmer who claimed he worked for Vladimir Putin’s ruling party arrived in the U.S. Friday after Spanish authorities extradited him to face cybercrime charges in Connecticut.
Peter Levashov is scheduled to appear in court Friday, according to his lawyer, Igor Litvak. Prosecutors have been pursuing Levashov, who they say operated under names including Peter Severa, for at least a decade. He’s among the top 10 worst spammers in the world, according to The Spamhaus Project, which tracks spam-related cyber threats.
Levashov had resisted extradition since April, after he was arrested in Barcelona. A U.S. indictment unsealed that month accuses him of using malicious software to hijack computers worldwide to send emails advertising fake drugs, pump-and-dump penny-stock schemes and other frauds.
At a hearing in Spain in September, Levashov claimed he was a military officer who worked for a decade for Russia’s ruling United Russia party, collected information on opposition parties and “conveyed it to people who needed to know,” RIA Novosti reported at the time. United Russia’s press office said that the claim was “nonsense” and Levashov was unknown to the political party. The extradition was approved in October by Spain’s National Court.
Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-02/russian-national-called-most-notorious-spammer-sent-to-u-s
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