Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Case

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David Ray Camez, 22, was convicted of racketeering with the use of the Internet in December 2013 by a Las Vegas jury. He faces up to 40 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 under the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act). Racketeering is defined as “one who obtains money by an illegal enterprise usually involving intimidation.” (Racketeer, n.d.). Under the RICO Act, members of organized crime organizations can be prosecuted even if they did not directly commit the crime. The prosecution argued that Camez was a member of the web forum “Carder.su” which is considered an organized crime group. The organizers of this group underwent all of the proper background and security checks in order to protect the web forum from law enforcement. (Kastrenakes, 2013). Card.su is a Russian-run criminal website where other cyber criminals are allowed to sale products such as counterfeiting gear, stolen identify information, skimmed or stolen credit card magnetic stripe data, hacker tools, botnets for rent, and online banking credentials. (Poulsen, 2013). Card.su had a membership of over 5,500 users which is a good indication of just how far, domestically and internationally, these crimes reached. US attorney Daniel Bogden stated, "It is difficult to fathom the enormity and complexity of the Carder.su racketeering organization and its far-reaching tentacles across international borders." (Kastrenakes, 2013).

The U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs, Homeland Security Investigations, along with members of the Las Vegas-based Southwestern Identity Theft and Fraud Task Force (SWIFT) all joined forces in the investigation. The investigation began in 2007 before Camez joined the group. Camez joined the grou...

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...sh strong mechanisms for fostering international cooperation. (Sans, 2006). This treaty was designed to unite nations in an effort to address and combat cybercrimes by avoiding conflicts between the nations while enforcing the laws of their respective countries.

Computer crimes are typically traditional and the only difference is how they are now being conducted; on the Internet. These crimes include cyber stalking, denial of service attacks, and cyberbullying. Law enforcement as well as the government should focus their attention on amending existing policies and implementing new laws as necessary which will protect citizens and computer users domestically as well as internationally. The United States and other nations must have a willingness to cooperate and coordinate with law enforcement agencies to better understand how to investigate computer crimes.

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