F. Hills Man Conspired With Theft Ring
A federal judge ordered a Forest Hills Man on Tuesday, Sept. 4, to serve two years in prison for failing to report hundreds of thousands of dollars in funds funneled through his Internet cash exchange service to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), it was announced.
Ilya Boruch, 34, of 64th Road, who was the chief executive and owner of Bidding Expert Inc., which had an office at 97-25 64th Ave. in Rego Park, was originally arrested in June 2008 and convicted in May 2011 of one count of conspiring to defraud the U.S.
Tuesday’s sentence was handed down by U.D. District Judge George B. Daniels in a Manhattan federal courtroom, according to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara.
Reportedly, Boruch-through the operation of Bidding Expert-provided a service which exchanged vast amounts of cash into units of “Webby Money,” an Internet-based currency system previously operated in Russia.
According to federal law enforcement sources, the digital form of currency allowed individuals to transfer large amounts of money anonymously and without using formal banking channels between two different countries. Bidding Expert charged each client a fee for this service.
Between late 2006 and February 2008, Boruch provided this service for two individuals, Yuriy Rakushchynets and Ivan Biltse, who had stolen millions of dollars in cash withdrawn from ATMs in New York City.
Reportedly, Rakushchynets and Biltse were part of a large overseas criminal enterprise which stole bank account numbers and personal identification numbers PINs from hundreds of accounts globally.
In order to keep the operation going, law enforcement sources noted, Rakushchynets and Biltse funneled the stolen proceeds through Boruch and his WebMoney service, which was initially untraceable.
The two individuals reportedly met with Boruch on numerous occasions and provided him with shopping bags full of large amounts of cash, which he then processed into WebMoney. In all, the federal government determined, he funneled over $390,000 in money which was then exchanged into WebMoney and sent to accounts held by Rakushchynets or associates.
Rakushchynets and Biltes pled guilty in September and October 2008, respectively. Biltse is currently serving a four-year prison term; Rakushchynets’ sentencing is pending.
Bharara thanked the FBI for their work in the investigation of the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas G.A. Brown and Lee Renzin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Complex Frauds Unit prosecuted the case.
