Judge declines to throw out laptop evidence in case of Russian man accused of hacking U.S. businesses

 


SEATTLE (AP) — A federal judge has refused to throw out evidence collected from the laptop owned by a Russian man accused of hacking into U.S. businesses to steal credit card information.

But U.S. District Judge Richard Jones said lawyers for Roman Seleznev can still argue to the jury that the U.S. Secret Service agents who took the laptop failed to get a warrant before getting into it. Browne also claims the agents tampered with the machine so all evidence collected should be suppressed.

Jones said the delay in getting a warrant was understandable since Seleznev was arrested in the Maldives and then brought to Guam before landing in Seattle. Jones also said the competing expert opinions on the laptop tampering issue should be decided by the jury.

Federal prosecutors call Seleznev a leader in the marketplace for stolen credit cards. He was indicted on 40 charges ranging from fraud to identity theft. His trial is set for August.