After turning $200 into a booming $100m empire, an Aussie ex-mogul is facing a very different lifestyle after being extradited to the US.
From a rags-to-riches backstory that involved a booming start-up, a $600,000 wedding and a fleet of luxury cars, the story of playboy tech entrepreneur, Eugeni Zhenya Tsvetnenko, 41, has ended not with a bang but with a whimper.
On Thursday, the Perth-based former tycoon, was extradited to the US where he face charges relating to wire fraud, identity theft and money laundering. Photos released by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) show Tsvetnenko in a plain grey tracksuit and white sneakers as he handed over to the U.S. Marshals Service at Perth International Airport.
The mobile mogul and his co-conspirators have been accused by the U.S. Attorney’s Office of defrauding victims approximately $41,389,725 (A$59 million) through an auto-subscribing scheme which charged mobile phone customers for unsolicited texts without their knowledge or consent.
This included content involving horoscopes, trivia, and celebrity gossip. Authorities allege this practice made Tsventnenko and his associates more than $20 million (A$28.5 million) in proceeds, with Tsventnenko believed to have kept up to 70 per cent of this.
In a statement issued by US authorities, US Attorney Damian Williams thanked Australian authorities for their help in ensuring Tsventnenko will now have to “answer the call of American justice”.
“Eugeni Tsvetnenko is alleged to have…
