Carder sentenced to 20 years in prison
Member of Organization That Operated Online Marketplace for Stolen Personal Information Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison
A Phoenix man convicted after a jury trial last December of conspiracy and racketeering offenses for his involvement in a sophisticated cybercrime organization was sentenced today to serve 20 years in prison.
David Ray Camez, 22, also known as “Bad Man” and “doctorsex,” was convicted on Dec. 6, 2013, of one count of participating in a racketeer influenced corrupt organization and one count of conspiracy to participate in a racketeer influenced corrupt organization. In addition to his prison term, he was also sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $20 million in restitution.
Camez was one of 39 charged in an indictment returned in January 2012. Seven others have pleaded guilty, two are scheduled for trial in June, and the rest are fugitives. Sixteen other defendants were also charged in the scheme in three separate indictments, and 14 have pleaded guilty to date.
The target of the investigation was an organization that called itself Carder.su. Investigation of the Carder.su organization began in March 2007, after the United States Secret Service, operating in conjunction with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies who participate in the Southwestern Identity Theft and Fraud Task Force (SWIFT), began investigating a pattern of credit and debit card fraud. A special agent initiated an undercover investigation called Open Market and assumed the identity as a member of the organization when it was in its infancy.
The investigation determined that members of the Carder.su organization, known as “carders,” were involved in large scale trafficking of compromised credit card account data and counterfeit identifications and credit cards, as well as money laundering, narcotics trafficking and various types of computer crime.
The organization operated a a forum where members could purchase the illicitly obtained data and share knowledge of various fraud schemes. A second forum was also created to vet incoming new members. The forums were generally hosted within the former Soviet Union and the upper echelon of the organization resides within the former Soviet Union. In July 2011, the organization had an estimated 5,500 members.
Members of the organization had different roles, including moderators who directed other members in carrying out activities; reviewers who examined and tested products, services and contraband; vendors who advertised and sold products, services and contraband; and members. Members were required to successfully complete a number of security features designed to protect the organization from infiltration by law enforcement or members of rival criminal organizations.
Camez became a member of the organization on June 22, 2008. During 2009 and 2010, the undercover special agent had multiple contacts with Camez in which Camez purchased counterfeit Nevada and Arizona driver’s licenses. Investigators also intercepted and seized a package shipped to Camez from Pakistan which contained counterfeit credit and gift cards.
During a search of Camez’ home in Phoenix in May 2010, agents recovered counterfeit credit cards, equipment used to manufacture counterfeit credit cards, counterfeit US currency and counterfeit identification documents. A search of Camez’ computer revealed software used to encode counterfeit credit cards and stolen identity information.