A man who was jailed in April for blackmailing porn site users has been forced to pay back more than £270,000 – estimated to be his entire assets – under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Zain Qaiser, who dubbed himself the “King of the Internet”, had used fake IDs to purchase advertising space on leading porn sites.
But when users clicked the corrupted links, their computers were infected with malicious browser-locking software and showed a message impersonating law enforcement, saying an offence had been committed and demanding payment of up to $1,000 (£767) to unfreeze the screen.
He then spent the money on top class hotels, prostitutes, gambling, drugs and luxury items including a £5,000 Rolex watch.
Qaiser was handed a six-year sentence in April after admitting being part of a Russian-speaking cyber crime group.
He has now been ordered to hand over £270,864.47, based on an assessment of his available assets. If he fails to pay back the money within three months, a further two years in prison will be added to his sentence and he will remain liable for the money.
Passing sentence in April, Judge Timothy Lamb QC said: “The harm caused by your offending was extensive – so extensive that there does not appear to be a reported case involving anything comparable.
“Whatever your motivation for mounting these attacks on the Internet you took the opportunity to spend large sums of ill-gotten money in casinos, on an expensive watch and luxury hotel services. It has been asserted on your behalf you are remorseful. I have seen no outward expression of that.”
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