The group was created in 2010 and became a hub for thieves hoping to buy goods with fake and stolen payment cards. It was reportedly sophisticated, with members offering automated vending sites, a screening process and even an escrow service to help complete transactions. The Justice Department counted 10,901 registered members by March 2017.
This isn’t a decisive victory for law enforcement. Only a handful of Infraud members are facing punishment, some of them in the US. Others, including co-founder Svyatoslav Bondarenko, are fugitives. The guilty plea won’t necessarily deter other crooks. It’s still an important win, though, and shows how US prosecutors will tackle other large cybercrime outfits — it’s pushing for confessions that help take down as many targets as possible.