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10 Oct 2018, 6:35 pm
Californian Who Unwittingly Aided Russian Election Interference Gets 6 Months in Prison
Quote:
A 28-year-old California man was sentenced to six months in prison on Wednesday for selling bank account information that helped Russia wage a social media campaign aimed at influencing and disrupting the 2016 presidential race.
The man, Richard Pinedo, was the third defendant to be sentenced in the investigation of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, into Russia’s election interference and whether any Trump associates conspired. He was also ordered to serve six months of home detention after his time in prison.
Mr. Pinedo was an unknowing participant in Russia’s scheme to use Facebook and other social media platforms to exploit political divisions among American voters and swing the election in favor of President Trump. The Russians, whose bogus Facebook pages reached hundreds of millions of Americans, paid at least some of their expenses through PayPal accounts that were set up using stolen bank account information from Mr. Pinedo...
According to court papers, Mr. Pinedo earned $40,000 to $95,000 enabling the Russians and others to bypass safeguards and gain access to online financial networks.
He opened some bank accounts in his own name and worked with third parties to come up with other account numbers, then sold that information to his customers. When PayPal posted trial deposits into those accounts as a security measure, he emailed that information to his customers so their accounts could be verified.
The man, Richard Pinedo, was the third defendant to be sentenced in the investigation of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, into Russia’s election interference and whether any Trump associates conspired. He was also ordered to serve six months of home detention after his time in prison.
Mr. Pinedo was an unknowing participant in Russia’s scheme to use Facebook and other social media platforms to exploit political divisions among American voters and swing the election in favor of President Trump. The Russians, whose bogus Facebook pages reached hundreds of millions of Americans, paid at least some of their expenses through PayPal accounts that were set up using stolen bank account information from Mr. Pinedo...
According to court papers, Mr. Pinedo earned $40,000 to $95,000 enabling the Russians and others to bypass safeguards and gain access to online financial networks.
He opened some bank accounts in his own name and worked with third parties to come up with other account numbers, then sold that information to his customers. When PayPal posted trial deposits into those accounts as a security measure, he emailed that information to his customers so their accounts could be verified.
Richard Pinedo was sentenced to six months in prison on Wednesday in federal court in Washington.CreditCreditSamuel Corum for The New York Times
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