U.S. agents 'got lucky' pursuing accused Russia master hackers
The two Russians arrested in what prosecutors call the largest online fraud case brought in the United States were caught through a combination of high-tech tools, dogged detective work and sheer luck.
The propensity of the wealthy young Russians to travel provided authorities with their big opportunity to collar them in the Netherlands last year.
The alleged moneyman, Dmitriy Smilianets, 29, has been extradited to the United States to face the indictment, unsealed on Thursday in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, while one of the most-sought alleged hackers on the planet, Vladimir Drinkman, 32, is still fighting his move from the Netherlands. Three other suspects remain at large, and prosecutors took the unusual step of naming them in what law enforcement sources said was a slap at uncooperative Russian authorities.
