A Bulgarian man known colloquially as The Hacker, has been given a four-and-a-half year jail sentence for masterminding a criminal gang that milked millions of dollars from US credit card accounts.
A court in the Black Sea city of Varna convicted the man after he pleaded guilty to charges of founding an organised crime group for money laundering, financial fraud and extortion.
In a statement, the court says: "Issa Mehmed, nicknamed 'The Hacker' ... has carried out dozens of financial operations, linked with draining bank cards, mainly owned by US citizens in different US banks."
The crimes were conducted over a five year period until January 2008, when Mehmed and four accomplices were arrested. The four other members of the gang received varying sentences.