The owner of the E-ROOT, a major Internet site where hackers traded access to compromised computers worldwide, has been sentenced to 42 months in prison. Sandu Deacon, a citizen of Moldova also known as Utmsandu, Sandusell, Rootarhive, and Wind3str0y, will be closely monitored by law enforcement agencies for an additional 3 years, according to court documents.
The verdict came after Deacon pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud and four counts of possessing 15 or more access devices to other people’s information.
Deacon’s attempt to evade justice ended with his arrest in the UK in May 2021, following the seizure of E-ROOT domains at the end of 2020.
In October 2023, he was extradited to the United States on charges including fraud, money laundering, computer crimes, and using others’ payment information.
Law enforcement officials state that over 350,000 accounts were created on the trading platform, affecting individuals worldwide, including government entities like a department in Tampa. Many fell victim to extortion attacks, and the information on the site was used for fraudulent tax refund schemes.
Deacon operated E-ROOT from January 2015 to February 2020, using a sophisticated network infrastructure to conceal the identities of administrators, buyers, and sellers.