Russian immigrant sentenced in federal racketeering case

A Miami man was sentenced to nearly a decade in prison Tuesday for racketeering and ID theft crimes, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday.

Alexander Kostyukov, 30, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Nevada to nine years in prison and ordered to pay more than $50 million in restitution after he pleaded guilty to participating in a racketeer influenced corrupt organization and three counts of trafficking and producing counterfeit identification documents, according to the agency.

Kostyukov, who is originally from Russia, was a vendor of "cashout services" and helped organization members transfer or launder funds they obtained illegally from stolen bank and credit card accounts, the agency said. He received 45 percent to 62 percent of the total laundered amount for providing the services.

"This lengthy sentence ... should serve as a sobering warning about the consequences awaiting those engaged in large-scale financial fraud," Joseph Macias, a Homeland Security Investigations agent in Los Angeles, said in a news release.

Kostyukov was arrested in Operation Open Market, a federal investigation targeting the organization, which stole tens of millions of dollars from countless innocent victims, Macias said.

Contact Kimber Laux at klaux@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Find her on Twitter: @lauxkimber