USA v. Lifshits Document 2: Affidavit, Attachment 1

Virginia Eastern District Court
Case No. 1:20-mj-00256-TCB
Filed September 10, 2020

AFFIDAVIT by USA as to Artem Mikhaylovich Lifshits [1] Complaint (Attachments: # (1) Part II, # (2) Part III, # (3) Part IIII)(choy, )

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b. On or about August 9, 2016, Exchange 2 used AWS-controlled IP address to
deliver an account creation verification for an account set up in the name of a
United States identity theft victim. Further, the conspirators caused Exchange to use IP addresses associated with a computer located in the Eastern District of
Virginia on other occasions.
c. On or about August 9, 2016, Exchange 2 used a computer associated with an
AWS-controlled IP address to deliver an account creation verification for an
account set up in the name of a United States identity theft victim. Further, the
conspirators caused Exchange 2 to use a computer associated with IP addresses
located in the Eastern District of Virginia on other occasions.
K.
LIFSHITS and Co-Conspirators Deprived Exchange 1 of its Property
76.
Law enforcement spoke with compliance personnel at Exchange 1. Compliance
personnel stated that in order to comply with federal law and regulations, Exchange 1 is required
to identify its customers. For that purpose, Exchange 1 collects personally identifiable
information from account applicants. Exchange 1 then directs applicants to a third-party service
provider that requires the applicant to upload a photo of their government-issued photo
identification, as well as a photo of themselves. The third-party service provider then examines
these documents and photos for authenticity and signs of tampering. Compliance personnel
stated that Exchange 1 does this to comply both with law and regulations and to prevent fraud on
their platform.
77.
Exchange 1 compliance personnel stated that Exchange 1 would not open an
account if it knew that an applicant used fraudulent identifiers or a fraudulent identity document
to register an account. Compliance personnel stated that regulatory fines could be levied against
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the company, and that “fraudsters” operating on the Exchange 1 platform could expose the
company to civil liability. Compliance personnel stated that individuals using false
identifications to establish Exchange 1 accounts are likely using the accounts for other unlawful
activity, which exposes the company to even greater regulatory penalties, including possible
fines. Indeed, Exchange 1 also holds financial institution licenses in several states, and states
could levy their own penalties. For these reasons, Exchange 1 considers itself a victim of fraud
whenever a user opens or uses an account — including, specifically, the T.W. Exchange account used by LIFSHITS — that is predicated on fraudulent or stolen identity information.
78.
Thus, by opening and using the T.W. Exchange 1 Account, which was setup using
the stolen identifiers of a real United States person, LIFSHITS and his co-conspirators through
their fraudulent misrepresentations deprived Exchange 1 of its right to control its assets.
According to Exchange 1 compliance personnel, the misrepresentations that were made in
opening the T.W. Exchange 1 Account could cause tangible economic harm, which is why
Exchange 1 does not knowingly permit customers to use stolen identifiers to open accounts. See,
e.g., United States v. Lebedev, 932 F.3d 40, 48-49 (2d Cir. 2019) (holding that financial
institutions were deprived of their right to control their assets when a defendant disguised that he
operated an illegal money service business); see also United States v. Finazzo, 850 F.3d 94, 11011 (2d Cir. 2017) (holding that misrepresentations or nondisclosure of information may support
mail or wire fraud conviction under “right to control” theory if misrepresentations or
nondisclosures can or do result in tangible economic harm); United States v. Binday, 804 F.3d
587, 571 (2d Cir. 2015) (holding cognizable harm occurs under mail and wire fraud statutes
where defendant misrepresentations deprive a victim of potentially valuable economic
information).
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L.
LIFSHITS and his Co-Conspirators Conspired to Commit Aggravated
Identity Theft
79.
As described in the previous section, on December 29, 2017, LIFSHITS accessed
the T.W. Exchange 1 Account to transfer funds to his personal Exchange 3 account. By doing
so, LIFSHITS knowingly possessed and used the identification of United States individual,
T.W., in order to transact the wire scheme in transferring funds between cryptocurrency
accounts. In particular, he accessed T.W.’s name, date of birth, and address. This type of
personally identifiable information is a “means of identification” as defined in Title 18, United
States Code, Section 1028(d)(7).
80.
Moreover, based on Exchange 1’s thorough account verification features,
LIFSHITS and his co-conspirators had every reason to believe that the personally identifiable
information used to open the T.W. Exchange 1 Account belonged to a real United States person.
81.
Based on the forensic cryptocurrency analysis, the IP address usage, Exchange 1’s
verification procedures, and the statements made by the victim, when LIFSHITS accessed the
T.W. Exchange 1 Account and then proceeded to transfer funds from that account to his
Exchange 3 accounts, LIFSHITS knowingly and unlawfully used T.W.’s means of identification
in furtherance of the scheme to defraud Exchange 1 of its property. I therefore submit that there
is probable cause to believe that LIFSHITS committed and conspired to commit aggravated
identity theft, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A.
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Digitally signed by Theresa
Carroll Buchanan
Date: 2020.09.10 11:10:-04'00'
UI
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Attachment A
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