Monroeville Man Sentenced To 24 Months For Purchasing Hundreds Of Stolen Log-In Credentials Off The Darkweb

MOBILE, AL – A Monroeville man was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for illegally possessing stolen log-in credentials that he purchased from an illicit, invitation-only internet marketplace accessible via the dark web.

According to court documents and testimony at sentencing, Genesis Market was an illegal online marketplace housed on foreign servers, which was taken down in Operation Cookie Monster — a joint international cyber operation led by FBI-Milwaukee and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. See https://www.justice.gov/usao-edwi/pr/genesis-market-disrupted-international-cyber-operation 

Laderian Odom, 28 of Monroeville, Alabama received an invitation to Genesis Market in the summer of 2020.  Thereafter, Odom used cryptocurrency to purchase approximately 950 sets of stolen log-in credentials. These credentials included usernames and passwords for online bank accounts, shopping sites like Amazon, social media accounts, and more. With these stolen credentials, a person could fully access these online accounts as if they were the real account holder.  

After ruling in the government’s favor on a disputed issue concerning the application of the sentencing guidelines, U.S. District Court Judge Terry F. Moorer sentenced Odom to 24 months in prison. Although Odom pleaded guilty, he did not receive any sentencing reduction for accepting responsibility, because Judge Moorer found that Odom knowingly lied about being under indictment in this case when he filled out paperwork attempting to purchase a handgun in August 2023. 

This case was investigated by FBI-Mobile, with assistance from FBI-Milwaukee. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Bodnar prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.