Wallingford Man Pleads Guilty To Fraud, Money Laundering Charges In Dark Web Phishing Scheme: Feds

WALLINGFORD, CT — A Wallingford man has pleaded guilty in federal court to fraud and money laundering charges in connection to an online phishing scheme in which authorities say he obtained more than $365,000 and had more than 10,000 stolen usernames and passwords saved on his computer. Michael Richo, 35, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty in Hartford federal court on Tuesday, U.S. States Attorney Deirdre M. Daly announced in a press release.

According to the court documents and statements made in court, Richo engaged in an online phishing scheme to steal bitcoins from individuals on the dark web. Bitcoins are a form of electronic currency, and online marketplaces on the dark web typically accept them as a payment method.

In pleading guilty, Richo admitted that he posted fake links to online marketplaces on dark web forums. (To sign up for Wallingford breaking news alerts and more, click here.)

“The links directed individuals to a fake login page that looked like the real login pages for the various online marketplaces,” Daly wrote in the press release. “When individuals attempted to log in, Richo stole his or her username and password. Once he had an individual’s username and password, Richo monitored the individual’s bitcoin balance at the real marketplace. If the individual later deposited bitcoins with the real marketplace, Richo withdrew the bitcoins before the individual could spend them and caused the stolen bitcoins to be deposited into his own bitcoin wallet.

“Richo then sold the stolen bitcoins to others in exchange for U.S. currency, which was deposited into bank accounts that Richo controlled or was provided to him through Green Dot Cards, Western Union transfers, and MoneyGram transfers.”

In total, Richo obtained more than $365,000 through his scheme and had more than 10,000 stolen usernames and passwords saved on his computer, according to Daly.

Richo pleaded guilty to one count of access device fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison, and one count of money laundering, an offense that carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 28.

As part of his plea agreement, Richo has agreed to forfeit various computers and electronic devices, an assortment of precious coins and metals, and up to $365,000, according to Daly.

Since his arrest on October 5, 2016, Richo has been released on bond with computer monitoring conditions.

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