KC Reporter

A Nigerian citizen extradited from the United Kingdom was sentenced in federal court for his involvement in a conspiracy to sell stolen financial information on the darknet, affecting tens of thousands of victims globally.

Simon Kaura received a five-year federal prison sentence without parole from U.S. District Judge Greg Kays. The court determined that Kaura’s actions led to an intended loss of $6,338,500.

Kaura pleaded guilty on May 22, 2024, to one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud and one count of access device fraud. According to court documents, he admitted participating in a global scheme to obtain and sell stolen financial information on darknet markets. Kaura operated under several online aliases including “apples,” “applepiecards,” “cartman,” and “dpharoah.”

Kaura and his co-conspirators were prominent vendors of stolen financial information, using monikers such as “ggmccloud” and “ggmccloud1” across multiple darknet markets. These markets functioned similarly to conventional e-commerce websites but primarily dealt in illegal goods. Transactions were conducted using digital currencies like Bitcoin, facilitating the distribution of contraband worldwide.

The group obtained large quantities of stolen financial data which they then organized and sold on various darknet platforms. Their operations spanned all 50 states in the U.S., the District of Columbia, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. From February 22, 2016, to October 1, 2019, they executed tens of thousands of illegal transactions.

During this period, Kaura and his associates also created their own darknet market named Skynet. This platform offered stolen financial information and other contraband for sale while providing a forum for cybercriminals to communicate.

Co-defendant Taylor Ross Staats from Texas was sentenced on January 25, 2024, to 18 months in federal prison without parole after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud. Staats's role involved verifying whether stolen payment cards were active before organizing them for sale under the alias “f9ac4.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice are seeking forfeiture of over $4.5 million in criminal proceeds from these activities.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas Heberle, Matthew Blackwood, and John Constance from the Western District of Missouri along with Trial Attorneys Michael Christin and Louisa Becker from the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the Criminal Division at the Department of Justice. The FBI conducted the investigation.

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