School dropout who quit before GCSEs fighting US extradition over '£400m hack'
A school dropout is fighting extradition to the US over a £400million computer hack.
Diogo Santos Coelho, 23, faces up to 52 years in jail if found guilty.
He allegedly set up one of the world’s largest hacker forums after quitting school at 15 without sitting his GCSEs in Croydon, South London.
The RaidForums website enabled criminals to buy and sell people’s personal and financial information using PayPal and cryptocurrency.
More than 10 billion files and £400million were stolen.
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Coelho moved back to his native Portugal but was arrested on January 31 last year after returning to London to visit his sick mother. The operation – involving the FBI, Europol and the National Crime Agency – also netted two alleged accomplices, including a 22-year-old in Croydon.
Coelho is accused of setting up hacker forum (Getty Images)Coelho is on £30,000 bail and an electronic curfew while living at a flat in Vauxhall, South London.
He is wanted for trial in Richmond, Virginia, on charges including fraud and identity theft. Now, a UK judge has sent his case to Home Secretary Suella Braverman – who will decide whether to extradite him.
During the hearing at Westminster magistrates court earlier this month, it emerged Coelho had been diagnosed with autism and was a suicide risk if he was sent to the US.
He told the court: “The most pressing concern is being in a foreign prison without support. When I was speaking with psychiatrists, I was talking with them about my concerns about a long sentence.”
His lawyers argued his extradition would be a breach of his human rights, that he was from a broken home and he had been “exploited by adults” to set up the RaidForums site.
Case has been referred to Suella Braverman (Getty Images)But District Judge Daniel Sternberg ruled: “I conclude that the extradition is a proportionate interference in his… rights”.
RaidForums was busted in 2022 after a six-year probe also involving Portugal, Sweden and Romania. In Portugal, authorities probing Coelho have seized assets including property. His bank accounts have also been frozen.
US prosecutors claim Coelho, using the name Omnipotent, was caught selling stolen data to an undercover agent after the FBI and secret service monitored messaging apps. US Attorney Jessica D Aber said: “Our inter-agency efforts to dismantle this sophisticated online platform should come as a relief to the millions victimised by it.”
If Ms Braverman decides to extradite Coelho, he can appeal. Both the Home Office and Coelho – who we approached on a police bail appointment on Friday – will not comment.
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