California man who sold stolen identities to be sentenced in Russia probe

A California man who was accused by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office of operating an online auction service that trafficked in stolen identities will be sentenced on Wednesday in a federal district court.

Richard Pinedo, who pleaded guilty to one count of identity fraud in February, could face between 12 to 18 months in prison and a fine of $5,500 to $55,000, according to U.S. sentencing guidelines.

The indictment against the Russians makes no mention of Pinedo by name. However, a source familiar with the case told Reuters he is referred in the charging documents as the person who helped the Russian conspirators launder money, as well as purchase Facebook ads and pay for rally supplies, through PayPal Holdings Inc.

The criminal charge against Pinedo was announced in February by Mueller’s office at the same time it unveiled an indictment against 13 Russians and three Russian companies on charges they adopted fake online personas to push divisive messages, traveled to the United States to collect intelligence and staged political rallies.

Mueller’s investigation has issued several indictments and accepted guilty pleas as it investigates Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

Pinedo’s attorney, Jeremy Lessem, has said his client had no knowledge of the identities or the motivations of those who purchased the information he sold.

According to the indictment against the 13 Russians, the defendants in 2016 used Social Security numbers and birth dates of real U.S. people to open PayPal accounts and to create fake drivers licenses and open social media accounts.

The United States does not have an extradition treaty with Russia. However, one of the Russian companies charged in the indictment - Concord Management and Consulting LLC - has hired American attorneys to fight the charges.

Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch