SEATTLE — A Russian hacker who was convicted in federal court in Seattle was released as part of a prisoner swap this week.
Roman Seleznev was one of the prisoners released in the swap, which was the biggest in post-Soviet history.
Seleznev was convicted in August 2016 of hacking into U.S. businesses to steal credit card information and orchestrating an international online theft scheme.
Seleznev hacked into businesses, mostly pizza restaurants in Washington state, and stole millions of credit card numbers that he sold on underground internet forums, authorities said. The thefts led to almost $170 million in credit card losses around the world and made him "one of the most prolific credit card traffickers in history," prosecutors said.
Seleznev, who is the son of a Russian Parliament member, was first indicted in 2011 on 29 charges. He was captured in 2014 in the Maldives as Seleznev and his girlfriend were at the airport on their way back to Russia.
A jury convicted Seleznev on 38 counts, including nine counts of hacking and 10 counts of wire fraud. He was sentenced in April 2017 to 27 years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $170 million in restitution.
The swap allowed the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovivh and American security executive Paul Whelan, among two dozen people who were set free.
In addition to Seleznev, the Russians also got Vadim Krasikov, who was sentenced in Germany for a Berlin park killing, two sleeper agents in Slovenia, and two other men charged in the U.S.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.