Peter Levashov

Peter Levashov is a Russian spammer and virus creator. He was described by The Spamhaus Project as one of the longest functioning criminal spam operators on the internet. In July 2021, a US federal judge overruled government recommendations for a 12 to 14.5 year prison sentence, giving a sentence instead of time served, with three years of supervision. Levashov remains in the US.

Background

Levashov, born in 1980, graduated in 1997 from the Saint Petersburg High School No. 30 of Math and Science. He started a bulk-mailing service, registered to his own name, in 2002.

Levashov was described by Spamhaus as " ne of the longest operating criminal spam-lords on the internet," who collaborated with many other Eastern European and U.S. based botnet spammers, as well as American spammer from Detroit Alan Ralsky. Peter Levashov was arrested by Spanish officials while in Barcelona, at the request of the United States Department of Justice. He was suspected by the United States of being the kingpin behind the Kelihos botnet and was extradited to the United States, arriving on 2 February 2018. Russia had filed a competing extradition request, but the Spanish high court in October 2017 approved Levashov’s extradition to the U.S., rejecting the Russian counterclaim.

Criminal case

The case was U.S. v. Levashov, 17-mj-448, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut (Bridgeport)., assigned to Robert N. Chatigny, Senior United States District Judge in Hartford. Levashov initially pleaded not guilty to the charges. According to his lawyer, Petya [Pyotr] Levashov was detained in a Bridgeport, Connecticut prison until at least 5 February 2018. As of July 2021, he had been out of prison on electronic monitoring since January 2020. and confirmed by media reports.

An affidavit unsealed on February 5, 2018, showed Apple’s unexpected role in bringing Levashov to justice. He allegedly ran the Kelihos botnet under the alias “Severa,” renting out access to spammers and other cybercriminals. Despite Levashov’s significant efforts at anonymity, court records show that federal agents had been surveilling his iCloud account since May 20, 2016, funneling back crucial information that may have led to his arrest.

According to RFE/RL, which cited Levashov's testimony on behalf of the US government in the June, 2021 court case against Oleg Koshkin, Levashov cooperated with the FBI during his imprisonment in the hope of a sentence reduction. Levashov was released from jail on bond in January 2020 and remained free until his sentencing 18 months later. Levashov was additionally ordered to serve 3 years of supervised release.