The indictment in the case includes the claim that some of the suspects, through their illegal action, had cost various US banks up to $1.5 million. A tip-off originally led police to discover that suspects Metin C., Ercan F. and Nekip A. had obtained people's credit card information and then shared this information with others. Further investigation led police to discover credit card information belonging to people from many different countries saved on Metin C.'s personal computer, as well as special programs that allowed him to obtain these numbers and information on how to hack into various Internet sites.As the investigation into the case progressed, the suspects' cell phones and e-mails were monitored by security forces. Following this, simultaneous police operations in August 2008 in Ankara, Adana, Antalya, Çorum, Hatay, İstanbul, İzmir, Kastamonu, Kocaeli, Muğla, Mersin, Sivas and Şanlıurfa led to the arrests of many people in connection with credit card and bank fraud and swindling. During the investigation, the FBI sent three written notices to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office through the US Embassy in Ankara. The notices included information about one of the suspects in the case, Ercan F.-- known on the Internet by his alias "SeGaTe" -- who the FBI asserted had managed to steal around $1.5 million from American banks through a technique known as “phishing.”
The indictment reports that the suspects used an Internet site formed by Nekip A. to sell illegally obtained credit card information from people all around the world. Suspect Ercan F. reportedly transferred money made from these illegal activities to Russia and bought a home there worth 200,000 euros, as well as obtaining Russian residency and work permits. The indictment also alleges that suspects involved in this case used the credit card information they obtained to carry out money transfers from various banks outside Turkey. They are alleged to have done this using not only the Internet, but also ATMs in Turkey that had not yet implemented “chip card systems.”
Prosecutors are calling for prison sentences of between seven and 20 years for suspects Nekip A, Ercan F., Gökhan B. and Metin C. The court has already accepted the indictment, and the trial is set to begin shortly.
