News Moderators of WWH Charged.

[Fixxx]

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The U.S. Department of Justice has officially charged two individuals, whom investigators refer to as administrators of the WWH forum. They are Kazakhstan citizen Alexander Khodyrev and Russian Pavel Kublitsky.

"They are charged with conspiracy to commit fraud using access devices and conspiracy to commit fraud using electronic communications. If convicted on all counts, each faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison" - the Justice Department's statement reads.​

The United States also intends to confiscate Khodyrev's 2023 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG SUV, as well as Kublitsky's 2020 Cadillac CT5 Sport sedan. Both vehicles, according to the prosecution, were purchased with money obtained through criminal means. The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced the arrest of Kublitsky and Khodyrev on August 8. At that time, it was reported that law enforcement had gained access to the forum's systems and extracted the database. Later, this information was denied by representatives of the platform itself, who acknowledged the very fact of the moderator's arrest.

FBI agents noted that after logging into the WWH site, users were offered advertising banners and access to guides on credit fraud, DDoS attacks and purchasing stolen banking data. The administrators also organized a scheme that trained users to make purchases using stolen credit cards. Court documents contain details about how an undercover FBI agent registered for one of the credit theft courses, paying $1,000 in Bitcoin and attended it for over six weeks along with other participants. The FBI also reports that Kublitsky purchased a luxury condominium in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, while Khodyrev bought a 2023 Chevrolet Corvette sports car at a dealership in South Florida for cash, spending about $110,000. The documents indicate that both men, according to records, don't have official employment in the United States. The criminal case against both remains classified as "secret" in the Middle District of Florida.

FBI investigators obtained detailed information about WWH-Club during the investigation of the "bulletproof hosting" provider DigitalOcean, which provided the server infrastructure for WWH-Club. DigitalOcean administrators were ordered to submit all background information on the operations and members of the forum since July 2020. Investigators believe that both Khodyrev and Kublitsky played key roles in the functioning of WWH-Club and were involved in all aspects of its activities: from ensuring compliance with rules to managing the infrastructure. They also trained users in conducting transactions and cybercriminal activities, as well as managing Bitcoin wallets through which membership fees and payments for courses were processed. Court documents mention that a Bitcoin cluster, allegedly linked to Kublitsky and Khodyrev, received 4,000 deposits totaling 152 Bitcoins over nine years. In an attempt to avoid law enforcement attention, the defendants built decentralized server networks and constantly changed their IP addresses. As noted by Bleeping Computer, the owners of the cybercriminal forum itself claim that the roles of Khodyrev and Kublitsky were far from key - they essentially only handled moderation.

"It’s amusing that, concerned about their online security, the two suspects fell victim to such a 'childish' miscalculation" - says Anastasia Melnikova, the director of information security at SEQ - "It's obvious that if you live ostentatiously beyond your means, law enforcement attention is guaranteed. As for the role of the detained, it will be judged by whether WWH-Club ceases to exist or not".​