DarkMarket mastermind jailed

Cyber criminals used DarkMaket to exchange compromised card details

One of the criminal masterminds behind the infamous DarkMaket site built to allow cyber criminals to collaborate on online scams, has been sentenced to nearly five years in jail, according to widespread reports.

Renukanth Subramaniam, 33, was sentenced at Blackfriars Crown Court to 46 months for conspiracy to defraud and 10 months for five counts of mortgage fraud.

John McHugh, 66, of Doncaster, South Yorkshire, was jailed for two years for conspiracy to defraud after being caught using the site under the alias 'devilman'.

According to an Associated Press report, Judge John Hillen said: "Criminals should learn from this case that, even in cyber space, there is no hiding place. "

The case was brought after an international investigation involving the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) and the FBI during which undercover officers infiltrated the site which has since been dubbed a 'Facebook for fraudsters'.

Soca alleged that Subramaniam set up DarkMaket in November 2005, offering an "invitation-only service" for criminals to buy and sell stolen credit card details and "anything else they needed to commit financial crime".

The site was shut down in 2008, having enabled deals which led to scams worth tens of millions of pounds and generating over 60 arrests, said Soca.

"The key to investigations of this sort is finding the evidence to connect the online persona with a living breathing person," said Sharon Lemon, deputy director of Soca, at the time Subramaniam pleaded guilty.

"Subramaniam went to great trouble to hide his activity. He seems to have thought that carrying data around on memory sticks and using internet cafés would somehow protect him from scrutiny. He was wrong."