KOSOVAR national Ardit Kutleshi, 28, has pleaded guilty in a US court to charges arising from his alleged creation and administration of the Rydox cybercrime marketplace. Kutleshi was arrested in December 2024 with Jetmir Kutleshi and Shpend Sokoli, and was later extradited to the United States. The marketplace was disrupted that month after US authorities obtained judicial authorisation to seize its www.Rydox.cc domain, servers and about $225,000 in cryptocurrency.
According to court documents, Rydox enabled cybercriminals to trade stolen personally identifiable information, payment-card data, account credentials and cybercrime tools. At least 321,372 products were allegedly listed, including names, addresses, credentials, credit-card details and Social Security numbers, as well as phishing kits, stealer logs and spamming tools. Authorities estimated that the marketplace had roughly 18,000 users. More than 7,600 transactions took place between 2016 and 2024, generating at least $232,000 in revenue for its operators.
Kutleshi pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges involving identity theft and money laundering. He is due to be sentenced on 9 February 2027. The aggravated identity-theft conviction carries a mandatory two-year prison term, while the money-laundering charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.