The Romanian hacker "Virus", sentenced in the USA in the Gozi case, was caught in Sinaia with false diplomatic plates.

Mihai Ionuț Păunescu, known by the nickname "Virus" and convicted in the USA for involvement in the distribution of the Gozi malware, was caught in Sinaia with false diplomatic plates.

He was apprehended on Sunday after, around 11:00 AM, the police in Sinaia received an alert from an LPR – License Plate Recognition – system installed on a vehicle of the Prahova County Police Inspectorate.

The driver, Mihai Ionuț Păunescu, known by the nickname 'Virus', presented a forged identity document. Checks revealed that he had a suspended driving license and that he had been convicted in the USA for involvement in the distribution of the Gozi malware, which infected over a million computers, including NASA systems.

Păunescu was detained for 24 hours and is being investigated for multiple offenses. The investigations are coordinated by the Prosecutor's Office attached to the Sinaia Court. American authorities consider him a dangerous cybercriminal, having a history of illegal activities in the field of cybersecurity.

Note: Mihai Ionuț Păunescu is currently in the criminal investigation phase/under house arrest, benefiting from the presumption of innocence until a final court ruling is pronounced.