Administrator of online criminal marketplace arrested in Kosovo

Date: Dec. 12, 2024

Contact: [email protected]

Tampa, FL - United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the indictment and arrest of Liridon Masurica (Gjilan, Kosovo), a Kosovo national also known as "@blackdb." Masurica was taken into custody today by authorities in Kosovo. U.S. authorities are pursuing Masurica's extradition to the United States, pursuant to the extradition treaty between the United States and the Republic of Kosovo.

On December 3, 2024, a grand jury in the Middle District of Florida returned an indictment charging Masurica with one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud and five substantive counts of fraudulent use of 15 or more unauthorized access devices. If convicted on all counts, Masurica faces a maximum penalty of 55 years in federal prison.

According to the indictment, Masurica was the lead administrator of BlackDB.cc-an online criminal marketplace in operation from 2018 until present. BlackDB.cc illegally offered for sale compromised account and server credentials, credit card information, and other personally identifiable information of individuals primarily located in the United States, including those located within the Middle District of Florida. Once purchased, cybercriminals used the items purchased on BlackDB.cc to facilitate a wide range of illegal activity, including tax fraud, credit card fraud, and identity theft.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) and in cooperation with Kosovo Police's Cybercrime Investigation Directorate. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carlton C. Gammons. Substantial assistance was provided by the FBI's Legal Attaché Office in Sofia, Bulgaria and the Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs. Additionally, Special Prosecution of the Republic of Kosova and Kosovo Police's Cybercrime Investigation Directorate provided substantial assistance in the arrest of Masurica.

IRS-CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a more than a 90 percent federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 12 attaché posts abroad.