Mastermind of Global Online Theft Ring Convicted and Plans to Appeal

Russian convicted in masterminding global online theft ring

SEATTLE (AP) A jury has convicted a Russian man of hacking into U.S. businesses to steal credit card information and orchestrating an international online theft scheme that netted him millions of dollars.

Roman Seleznev could face up to 40 years in prison for stealing millions of credit card numbers that he sold on underground internet forums.

Prosecutors say the thefts led to almost $170 million in losses around the world and made him "one of the most prolific credit card traffickers in history."

After the verdict Thursday Seleznev's lawyer, John Henry Browne, vowed to appeal.

The Latest: Russian convicted of hacking into US businesses

SEATTLE (AP) The lawyer representing the Russian man convicted of hacking into U.S. businesses said after the verdict was read that he plans to appeal.

John Henry Browne said Thursday that one of the key issues in the appeal was the arrest of Roman Seleznev in the Maldives by U.S. Secret Service agents in 2014. Browne called the arrest a "kidnapping."

Browne had challenged the arrest during pre-trial hearings, but the federal judge ruled against him and said it could not come up during the trial.

But Browne has argued that the arrest was illegal.