Mastermind of ‘Facebook for fraudsters’ jailed

AN internet criminal who helped run a “Facebook for fraudsters” was jailed for four years and eight months in Britain yesterday.

Renukanth Subramaniam, 33, was one of the masterminds behind a website for trading stolen banking information called DarkMarket, which was linked to losses of tens of millions of pounds.

The site was a “one-stop shop” for fraudsters, offering criminals a place to trade credit card details and discuss how to carry out financial crimes, Blackfriars Crown Court heard.

Subramaniam, who came to Britain from Sri Lanka as an asylum-seeker in 1991, was described as “pivotal” to DarkMarket’s success.

He was its most activeuser until his arrest in July 2007, posting more than 1,000 messages on the site, the court was told.

Prosecutor Sandip Patel said: “We say that he was at the heart of DarkMarket, maybe not at the very moment of its inception but certainly soon afterwards.”

Subramaniam was jailed for 46 months for conspiracy to defraud and 10 months for five counts of mortgage fraud, with the sentences to run consecutively.

Fellow DarkMarket user John McHugh, 66, of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, was jailed for two years for conspiracy to defraud.

Passing sentence, Judge John Hillen said: “Criminals should learn from this case that, even in cyberspace, there is no hiding place.”

DarkMarket, which was created in 2005 as a virtual community for fraudsters, was shut down by an undercover FBI officer after a two -year global investigation.

Patel said the case was “extraordinary” because the conspiracy was “founded and promoted in cyberspace”.

“They were able to utilise modern technology in a way which gave them the capability to commit theft on an unprecedented scale with relative – but not absolute – impunity with no more than a dishonest will, a laptop, a mouse and internet access,” he said.

“In short, it was a Facebook for fraudsters.”

The judge told Subramaniam he was “a crook on a wide scale,” adding: “You have gravely abused the hospitality afforded to you by the UK.

“Instead, you have used the opportunities and freedoms you have been given to engage in sophisticated and serious crime.”

Subramaniam, who was granted British citizenship in 2002, was described as a “loner” who worked in dead-end jobs and drifted around, staying with friends and family in suburban areas of London, including Wembley and Ilford.

But online he was notorious among cyber criminals and a key figure in the success of DarkMarket, the court heard.

Prosecutor Patel said: “It appears that the seemingly routine life was a far cry from what was his digital persona as JiLsi.”

At its height DarkMarket boasted more than 2,000 members and Patel said it would be reasonable to suppose the losses it caused ran to tens of millions.

Worldwide there have been more than 60 arrests in relation to DarkMarket.