PITTSBURGH, PA. – A 32-year-old Pittsburgh man is facing a potential decade behind bars after a high-tech identity theft scheme involving a fleet of stolen rentals finally caught up with him. William Knight pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to charges of access device fraud and aggravated identity theft, officially wrapping up a case that linked local crime to the murky corners of the dark web.
The operation was surprisingly organized. According to prosecutors led by U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti, Knight and a group of co-conspirators went shopping on the dark web for stolen credit card numbers and personal data.
But they weren’t just buying electronics or gift cards. Instead, they teamed up with a “complicit” employee to bypass security and rent out roughly 100 different vehicles. Knight and his crew used some of the cars themselves, while others were essentially “sub-leased” to third parties, creating an illegal rental business built entirely on stolen identities…