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http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nj/publicaffairs/NJ_Press/files/shad1117_r.htm

11-17-05 -- Shadowcrew -- Guilty Pleas -- News Release

"Shadowcrew" Internet Identity and Credit Card Thieves Plead Guilty

NEWARK - Six men who administered and operated the "Shadowcrew.com" website
 - one of the largest online centers for trafficking in stolen credit and
 bank card numbers and identity information - pleaded guilty today in
 federal court, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

The one-stop online marketplace operated by the defendants was taken down
 in October 2004 by the U.S. Secret Service, closing an illicit business
 that trafficked in at least 1.5 million stolen credit and bank card numbers
 that resulted in losses in excess of $4 million. 

Andrew Mantovani, 23, of Scottsdale, Ariz.; Kim Taylor, 47, of Arcadia,
 Calif.; Jeremy Stephens, 31, of Charlotte, N.C.; Brandon Monchamp, 22,
 of Scottsdale, Ariz.; Omar Dhanani, 22, of Fountain Valley, Calif.; and
 Jeremy Zielinski, 22, of Longwood, Fla., entered guilty pleas to one
 count of conspiracy before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini. Judge
 Martini scheduled sentencings in late February and early March.

The defendants admitted their respective roles in the online conspiracy to
 commit credit and bank card fraud, as well as identification document
 fraud. Mantovani also pleaded guilty to a second count of unlawful transfer
 of identification to facilitate criminal conduct. Mantovani admitted his
 role in illegally obtaining approximately 18 million e-mail accounts with
 associated personal identifying information.

Both the conspiracy and unlawful transfer counts carry maximum prison
 sentences of five years and a maximum fine of $250,000. On Wednesday,
 Wesley Lanning, 22, of Grove City, Ohio, also pleaded guilty before Judge
 Martini to the conspiracy count, as did Rogerio Rodrigues 22, of Chicago,
 on Sept. 22. 

"These individuals proved in a big way that the Internet can be a dangerous
 place where consumers can be victimized without warning," said Christie.
 "But as this case also shows, criminals operating in the virtual world of
 the Internet are not ultimately anonymous. Their crimes can be traced and
 documented, and they can be tracked down, arrested, prosecuted and sent to
 prison."

"These guilty pleas illustrate the continued success of investigations such
 as Operation Firewall in disrupting cyber criminal networks," said
 David O' Connor, Special Agent in Charge of the Secret Service's Newark
 Field Office. "Through the joint efforts of the Secret Service and our
 partners at the state, local and federal levels, we continue to aggressively
 investigate and successfully prosecute criminal activity that threatens
 our country's financial infrastructure." 

The Shadowcrew organization and its associated website, www.Shadowcrew.com,
 was a hub of online identity theft activity, facilitating online
 trafficking in stolen identity information and documents, as well as stolen
 credit and debit card numbers. A year-long investigation by the Secret
 Service led to the arrests of 21 individuals in the United States in
 October 2004. To date, 12 have pleaded guilty. Additionally, several
 individuals were arrested in foreign countries. 

The Indictment charged that the administrators, moderators, vendors and
 others involved with Shadowcrew conspired to provide stolen credit and
 bank card numbers and identity documents through the Shadowcrew marketplace.
 The account numbers and other items were sold by approved vendors who
 had been granted permission to sell by administrators and moderators
 of the Shadowcrew site after completing a review process.

During his guilty plea, Mantovani acknowledged his role as co-founder,
 and administrator of the Shadowcrew website. As such, Mantovani had
 the power to control the direction of the organization as well as the
 day-to-day management of the website. He admitted using techniques
 such as phishing and spamming to illegally obtain credit and bank card
 information, which he then used to make purchases of merchandise online.
 The illegally obtained goods were then sent to a "drop" or mailing address
 specifically set up to receive the stolen goods. Some of the merchandise
 was then sold through E-Bay. 

Stephens, Taylor, Mantovani, Zielinski, Monchamp and Lanning all
 acknowledged that Shadowcrew members sent and received payment for illicit
 merchandise and services via Western Union money transfers and digital
 currencies such as E-Gold and Web Money. In addition, Mantovani admitted
 that in September 2004, he illegally acquired via computer, approximately
 18 million e-mail accounts with associated usernames, passwords, dates
 of birth, and other personally identifying information - approximately
 60,000 of which included first and last name, gender, address, city,
 state, country and telephone number.

Lanning, was a moderator of the "Fake ID" forum, as well as a vendor
 of false identification documents. Lanning admitted that he encoded
 credit card number information onto blank plastic cards so the credit
 card numbers could be used to illegally obtain merchandise including
 gift cards. He admitted creating and selling approximately 300-400
 false identification documents including false driver's licenses
 and health insurance cards. 

Dhanani, who served as a moderator on the website, outlined his role
 in providing an exchange service, for a fee, to Shadowcrew members,
 whereby the members would send him sums of cash and he would convert
 the cash into E-Gold electronic currency. Dhanani stated that
 Shadowcrew members used E-Gold to avoid traditional banking systems.

Taylor, who was a moderator on the Shadowcrew website, generated false
 identification documents, such as fake driver's licenses, and
 distributed them to other Shadowcrew members. Taylor served as
 a reviewer of false identifications documents. A favorable written
 review was a prerequisite to offering such false identification documents,
 and other illicit merchandise, for sale on the Shadowcrew website.

Stephens acknowledged his role as a moderator and vendor on the
 Shadowcrew site. Stephens acknowledged - as did Mantovani, Taylor,
 Lanning and Monchamp - acquiring stolen credit and bank card numbers
 from other Shadowcrew members during the course of the conspiracy.
 The stolen credit account numbers were then used to illegally obtain
 goods from retail establishments and cash from automated teller machines.

Monchamp, was a moderator on the Shadowcrew website. He, like Lanning,
 also encoded credit card number information onto blank plastic cards
 so the credit card numbers could be used to illegally obtain
 merchandise. Monchamp also acknowledged his role in generating
 false identification documents, such as fake driver's licenses,
 and distributing these documents to other Shadowcrew members. He
 was a reviewer of false identification materials and vendor of false
 identification and counterfeit credit cards. 

Christie credited Special Agents of the Secret Service in Newark,
 under the direction of Special Agent in Charge David O'Connor,
 in Morristown, for their work in developing the case.

The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin M. O'Dowd
 of the U.S. Attorney's Office Criminal Division, and Kimberly Kiefer Peretti
 from the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the
 Department of Justice.

-end-