Russian Hacker Accused of Plotting Escape from Seattle Jail

Authorities say a jailed Russian accused of hacking may be working with his father, a high ranking diplomat with close ties to Vladimir Putin, to plan his escape from a Seattle-area jail!

30-year-old Roman Seleznev is being held at the Federal Detention Center (FDC) located near the City of SeaTac, waiting on indictment from a 40-count suit that accuses of him and co-conspirators of hacking into business across the globe, stealing tens of millions of consumers personal information. They then made millions of dollars by selling it on the black market.

His father, Valery, is a top Russian diplomat and officials have discovered the two have been talking  in "code" language, perhaps plotting an escape attempt tied to a medical condition suffered by Roman.  In 2011, he sustained a serious head injury during a terrorist bombing in Morocco, and is required to take daily medication for the ailments.

US Marshall officers were alerted by prison officials, who discovered suspicious conversations between the two. All jail phone calls and other interaction are monitored by prison officials. They believe the two may have been plotting an escape attempt that would take place during an arranged medical visit outside the facility linked to Roman's head issues.

Officials also believe the two are also engaged in discussions about possible witness tampering and intimidation. Roman reportedly made references to a person who had "talked badly" about him (probably a witness tied to the hacking), and Valery suggested several solutions, including one he referred to as the "Uncle Andreys" option. Officials are not sure what that means, some suggest a Russian hit man.

The younger Selenez was fingered in the 2011 indictment, but was out of reach of U.S. officials until he took a vacation in 2014 to the Maldive Islands. US Customs officials alerted the Secret Service, who was able to legally arrest him, as the tiny string of Pacific Islands are not outside US jurisdiction. Russian government officials, including Putin himself, accused the United States of "kidnapping" Salenez.

His attorneys claim he is ignorant of the U.S. legal system, and only speaks limited English, but in August, Roman was heard telling his father there were certain subjects they couldn't "discuss" due to the security monitoring. He also told Valery these discussions had resulted in increased monitoring of all his activities, including those with others outside of the detention center.