The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) arrested one of it “Most Wanted Cyber Fugitives” earlier this week in Tijuana, Mexico, nearly five months after his indictment.
After nabbing John Gordon Baden, Tijuana Municipal Police coordinated with Mexican immigration officials to transport him to the San Ysidro Port of Entry, where he was handed over to Customs Border Protection officers and FBI agents, according to a FBI press release. He was initially held in the San Diego County Central Jail but was later transferred to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Metropolitan Correctional Center.
In early October, authorities began offering a $5,000 reward to anyone with information leading to Baden's arrest, and these public tips ultimately led to his capture.
Baden allegedly stole the identities of 40,000 people and then used their information to siphon funds from their brokerage or bank accounts to pay for expensive electronics, which led to losses in the millions of dollars.
Two other men, Jason Ray Bailey and Victor Alejandro Fernandez, allegedly coordinated with Baden to gain access to a U.S. mortgage broker's system, which they maintained access to for more than two years.
The access to the broker's system allowed Baden and his cohorts to steal mortgage applications containing customers' personal information, such as names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, addresses, assets, tax information, and driver's license numbers.
The group carried out the scheme by allegedly sharing login credentials that allowed them to access the broker's records storage application, BlitzDocs. This further allowed them to steal victims' personal information and also defraud merchants and financial institutions.
Baden faces federal charges, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and computer hacking.