A man who admitted stealing personal data online for use in fraud has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison.
Walthamstow-based Andrei Sergejev, 42, was arrested at his London home in March 2012 after investigators tracked him down as the person behind the username 'tetereff', which was trading stolen financial data online.
National Crime Agency investigators found compromised financial data, including utility bills and bank statements in numerous names, on the Estonian national's computer equipment. They believe he was compiling false ID packages as a service for criminals to use in financial fraud, and to enable them to travel internationally using false documents.
In addition to the computer files, investigators found large numbers of hard copy financial and identity documents in different names, £2,000 in cash and some cannabis.
Sergejev pleaded guilty last month to 12 charges of making an article used in fraud, and two counts relating to the drugs.
Earlier this week, he was handed a prison sentence of four years and nine months, and a two-year sentence for possession of items used in fraud will run alongside it.
Steve Pye, of the NCA's National Cyber Crime Unit, said: "Once again, a criminal has found that operating online under an assumed name was not enough to escape the attentions of law enforcement.
"Sergejev was facilitating fraud on a significant scale, and this type of criminality comes at a significant cost to businesses and individuals in the UK. The National Crime Agency continues its efforts to drive down the threat from online crime."