A Romanian hacker, convicted in the U.S. in the Gozi case, was caught in Sinaia with fake diplomatic license plates

A Romanian hacker, convicted in the United States for his involvement in distributing the Gozi malware, was caught in Sinaia with fake diplomatic plates.

He was caught on Sunday after, around 11:00 a.m., police officers in Sinaia received an alert from an LPR – License Plate Recognition – system installed on a special vehicle belonging to the Prahova County Police Inspectorate.

The driver presented a forged identity document. Checks revealed that his driving privileges had been suspended and that he had been convicted in the United States for his involvement in distributing the Gozi malware, which infected more than one million computers, including NASA systems.

The driver was detained for 24 hours and is being investigated for multiple offenses. The investigation is being coordinated by the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the Sinaia District Court. U.S. authorities consider him a formidable cybercriminal, with a history of illegal activities in the field of cybersecurity.

Note: The hacker is currently under criminal investigation/house arrest and benefits from the presumption of innocence until a final court ruling is issued.