Ardit Kutleshi, a 28-year-old from Kosovo, has admitted to creating and running Rydox, an illicit website and marketplace for cybercriminals to buy, sell, and trade stolen personal information, and to access devices and other tools for carrying out cybercrime and fraud. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania announced the plea. How […]

Key Takeaways
Guilty plea: A Kosovar national pleaded guilty on September 22, 2026, to running the Rydox cybercrime marketplace.
Marketplace scale: Rydox logged over 7,600 transactions and pulled in at least $232,000 since 2016.
Sentencing exposure: He faces a 2-year mandatory minimum and up to 20 years in prison.
Ardit Kutleshi, a 28-year-old from Kosovo, has admitted to creating and running Rydox, an illicit website and marketplace for cybercriminals to buy, sell, and trade stolen personal information, and to access devices and other tools for carrying out cybercrime and fraud. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Pennsylvania announced the plea.
How Rydox Trafficked Stolen Data Since 2016Court documents show Rydox conducted over 7,600 transactions since at least 2016, trading stolen personally identifiable information (PII), access devices, means of identification, and cybercrime tools and services, and generated at least $232,000 in revenue. The stolen data belonged to victims located in the U.S.
FBI Pittsburgh's Amie Loos said the platform "turned stolen information and criminal tools into a marketplace, making it easier for criminals to convert someone else's loss into their next crime."
“Rydox put cybercriminal tools and sensitive data up for sale, including the stolen identities and logins of thousands of people,” said Assistant Director Brett Leatherman of the FBI’s Cyber Division.
Arrest, Extradition, and the Rydox.cc TakedownKutleshi was arrested by Kosovo law enforcement in December 2024 and extradited to the U.S. in 2025. That same month, U.S. authorities judicially seized the domain Rydox.cc, cutting off the site's owners and users from buying or selling stolen data and cybercrime tools.
His brother, Jetmir Kutleshi, pleaded guilty and was sentenced in December 2025 before his deportation back to Kosovo.
Local authorities also arrested a third administrator, Kosovo national Shpend Sokoli, in Albania.
What's Next: Sentencing Date and ChargesKutleshi pleaded guilty before Judge Mark R. Hornak in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania to aggravated identity theft and money laundering conspiracy, and is scheduled to be sentenced on February 9, 2027.
The FBI's Pittsburgh Field Office worked the case with law enforcement partners in Kosovo, Albania's SPAK, and Malaysia's Commercial Crime Investigation Department.
The U.K. sanctioned Cambodian fraud compound operators Legend Innovation and crypto marketplace Xinbi in March.
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