Prison for Dark Overlord Collaborator

A Canadian man has been sentenced to prison in the United States for trading in stolen identities and collaborating with the Dark Overlord cyber extortionist group.

Using the screen name GoldenAce, Slava Dmitriev bought and sold hundreds of illegally obtained IDs on the dark web. The 29-year-old resident of Vaughn, Ontario, traded in Social Security numbers and other personally identifiable information, including names and dates of birth belonging to American citizens. 

Between May 2016 and July 2017, Dmitriev made approximately $100K by selling 1,764 items (mostly stolen identities) via the darknet marketplace AlphaBay.

An investigation into Dmitriev’s cyber-criminal activities revealed that he aided the Dark Overlord with their illegal activities on multiple occasions. On June 16 2016, Dmitriev sent access credentials to the group for a New York-based dentist he had purchased on a criminal marketplace. The dentist subsequently became the victim of a cyber extortion attack perpetrated by the group. 

A month later, Dmitriev received a spreadsheet from the Dark Overlord containing approximately 200,000 stolen identities. Investigators also determined that in May 2017, Dmitriev sold data stolen by the group containing the identity of a victim residing in La Quinta, California.

Dmitriev was arrested in Greece in September 2020 through the coordinated efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Hellenic Police. When Greek police searched the residence where Dmitriev was staying, they located a computer containing emails discussing the buying and selling of identities and Social Security numbers, as well as a video about how to commit identity theft.

Dmitriev was extradited to the United States in January 2021 to face a charge of fraud and related activity in connection with access devices. On Wednesday, he was sentenced to three years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

“Dmitriev stole the identities of hard-working citizens of the United States and thought he was safe from prosecution while overseas,” said Phil Wislar, acting special agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta.  

He added: “This sentence will serve as a reminder that the FBI will always work diligently with International Law Enforcement partners to bring justice to citizens who have been victimized.”