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Russian hacking suspect ordered held until trial

By WTOP Staff

GENE JOHNSON
Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) — A federal judge on Friday ordered the son of a prominent Russian lawmaker to remain in custody until his trial on computer hacking charges, after a prosecutor said evidence recovered from his laptop after his arrest in the Maldives gave new insight into the breadth of his activities.

Roman Seleznev, 30, the son of Valery Seleznev, appeared in U.S. District Court in Seattle, where he was indicted in 2011 on charges that involved hacking into computerized cash registers, stealing hundreds of thousands of credit card numbers and selling the data online for at least $2 million.

Seleznev faces similar but unrelated charges in Nevada.

In arguing for Seleznev to remain in custody, assistant U.S. attorney Norman Barbosa told the court that at first look, his laptop contained 2.1 million stolen credit card numbers, his criminal behavior was ongoing, and his profits had topped $17 million.

“Those funds have remained beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement, so they are probably — almost definitely — available to the defendant” should he try to flee, Barbosa told Magistrate Judge James P. Donohue.

Even as Seleznev vacationed in the Maldives, he had been searching the online system of the U.S. federal courts for charges filed against him — under his own name and his online nicknames, Barbosa said.

The grand jury in Washington state indicted Seleznev on charges of bank fraud, obtaining information from a protected computer, aggravated identity theft, trafficking in unauthorized access devices and possessing stolen credit card numbers.

Among the businesses he is accused of targeting are the Broadway Grill in Seattle, which eventually closed because of the damage the theft did to its reputation, several pizza chains, and the Phoenix Zoo.

A month after the then-sealed indictment was returned, Seleznev suffered a brain injury in a terrorist bombing of a cafe in Morocco. He remained in a coma for two weeks and underwent a series of operations, said Robert W. Ray, one of his lawyers.

U.S. Secret Service agents, working with local officials, arrested Seleznev at an airport in the Maldives last month as he was preparing to return to Russia from vacation with his girlfriend. He was flown to the U.S. territory of Guam, where another federal judge sent him to Seattle.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which carry a range of potential penalties, with some counts punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has accused the U.S. government of kidnapping Seleznev, and Ray reiterated that claim on Friday.

The prosecutor did not respond to that comment but said Seleznev had been careful to constrain his extensive international travel to countries that did not have an extradition treaty with the U.S. He noted that the arrest in the Maldives, an island chain in the Indian Ocean, was made with help from local authorities despite the lack of an extradition treaty.

Ray suggested that his client should be released after posting $100,000 in cash on a $1 million bond, and that he could be placed on home detention, with electronic monitoring and no Internet access, at an extended-stay apartment in Seattle. The law did not include a presumption that Seleznev should remain in custody based on the charges he faces, Ray said.

Ray conceded that the risk of escape was a valid concern for the court but said it could be overcome by those conditions, and that Seleznev posed no threat to public safety.

“He’s not going anywhere,” Ray said. “This case does not involve an act of terrorism. It does not involve an act of war.”

Donohue, however, agreed with prosecutors that there was a risk that Seleznev would flee. Even though Seleznev has surrendered his passport, “the court has no doubt he would be able to procure” documents that would enable him to escape, Donohue said.

Andrey K. Yushmanov, consul general of the Russian Federation in Seattle, attended the hearing and said the government remains concerned about the circumstances of Seleznev’s arrest. He said that if the U.S. had a problem with the behavior of one of its citizens, it should have contacted Russia. Instead, he said, the U.S. turned to a third-party nation, as it did when it arrested Russian arms merchant Viktor Bout in Thailand in 2008.

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Follow Gene Johnson at https://twitter.com/GeneAPseattle .

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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